Snapshots II - From the second series
by werks
Summary: S2: A grouping of one-, two- or three-shots based off of the stories in my second track Jamko series containing "Water Under the Bridge," "It's all in the name..." and the upcoming sequel "Resurgence"... contains missing or extra scenes that just didn't fit in the original flow. PM or leave suggestions in the comments with any further requests.
1. Be My Valentine II

_Chapter 1_

Be My Valentine II

 _In the tradition of the second series, this starts as a bit of a rewrite of the original. Set just after the end of "Water Under the Bridge" and before we pick up at the start of "It's All in the Name." Special thanks to BLBLF who suggested we see a little more Kaylin/Grandpa time and to all those who love George and maybe Addie too?_

 _I decided to keep these separate from the original Snapshots since the events in each series are different and I will try to keep it in some kind of chronological order so might reorder the chapters as we go. I'll only be updating this collection periodically when I'm stuck or I need to take a fun break from the longer pieces._

* * *

"Frank!... Are you around?… We're here! Hello?" Edit Janko called out as she ushered a well-bundled up Kaylin through the back door of the Reagan family home while struggling to carry an armful of dry cleaning and various other baggage containing shoes and whatever else she and Jamie would need to get ready for a night out on the town. It was February 14th, and the very first Valentine's Day they'd spend together as a couple having been engaged for just six weeks now since the New Year's Eve proposal under a sky full of fireworks on the beach behind Spencer's house in California. Jamie's father had surprised them with a pair of tickets to a performance at an exclusive dinner theatre when his own plans for a night out had fallen through. Even Henry, Nicki and Erin had commitments for the evening so there would be a meeting of only one for the Reagan family lonely hearts club this holiday… two, if you counted a little girl who would be sure to erase the lonely out of that equation anyway.

"In here," Frank called as he hurriedly made his way into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of his youngest granddaughter dressed in her grey puffy snowsuit with her favorite bunny-eared character beanie on phosphorescent display. "There's my sweetheart," he said as he only had eyes for her and quickly reached down to pick her up before she could squirm and run away since she knew what was coming next. "Gotcha," he laughed. "Now let's go get you out of all of these clothes before you get overheated in here," he added as he briskly took the little girl out into the living room without a second look at his future daughter-in-law.

"Nice to see you too, Frank," Eddie huffed up a breath to blow a loose wisp of hair out of her eyes as she stood there alone now with both hands loaded like a pack mule. "Don't worry, I'll get the door."

"Did you say something, Eddie?" he called from the other room where he had pinned Kaylin down on the couch and had her giggling as he peeled her out of her snow clothes. This season's cold temperatures had been one for the record books and everyone was looking forward to spring and more moderate weather, especially Jamie who had become extremely sensitive to the icy climate since his bout of severe hypothermia suffered in the building collapse at the Bridgewater construction site just two months earlier. After returning to patrol he had been forced to come up with a strategic layering process to keep himself comfortable through a whole shift although he still often found himself thoroughly chilled after a long tour no matter what he did.

Eddie glanced up at the wall clock over the stove and decided to carry on herself as time was running short so she used a foot to close the back door and gave a little jump to regrip all the bags as she dragged everything through the living room and towards the steps without any notice from Frank. "I'm just going to take these upstairs and start getting ready," she called behind her as she hurried up the stairs before she was forced to drop anything. "Jamie will be here right after shift so he'll have time to change before the car comes and we need to leave."

"Sounds good," Frank offered without much thought as he finished freeing the little girl from her winter wear until she was stripped down to a pretty festive red jumper and leggings before he pulled out a tin decorated with a big red bow from behind a cushion and delighted Kaylin when she opened it to find a dozen oversized heart-shaped versions of her very favorite iced oatmeal cookies from a local bakery. "Only one before dinner," he whispered as they returned to the kitchen for plates and glasses of milk since they just happened to be Frank's favorite cookies as well and he was loath to share them with anyone else.

Upstairs, Eddie was quick to put everything down on the bed in Jamie's old room before jumping in the shower and setting her hair up in some big oversized rollers to add some bouncy loose curls. She was excited for the evening and the prospect of a romantic dinner date and night out, to be followed by an intimate night in alone at his apartment as a certain someone would be sleeping over here allowing them a little more privacy than they had been accustomed to lately. Eddie was already imagining Jamie's take on a particular little sexy number she had waiting for him at home. For tonight's outing though she had splurged and planned to dazzle him with a new lovely red sleeveless knee-length dress with a sweetheart neckline and killer heels to match. The look was completed with some daring scarlet nail polish to match the dress and her makeup and hair were nearly done before she heard a door opening downstairs and Kaylin's shouts of "DADDY!" left little doubt as to who had arrived. Eddie knew what Jamie's reaction would be to the sight of her all dolled up, and she smiled in anticipation of an enjoyable evening.

For his part, Jamie was feeling a little drained and stiff as an active shift had seen him out of the car and exposed to the elements for much of the last eight hours. All he could think about was warming up in the hot shower that was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, but he paused to shake his head and smirk at the sight of his two-year-old daughter and her Grandpa sitting at the kitchen table with guilty looks on their faces and cookie crumbs on the placemats.

"Oatmeal huh, Dad?" he asked as he kissed the top of Kaylin's head and set a beautifully arranged bouquet of roses down along with a bottle wrapped in a plain brown paper bag.

"Flowers and whiskey, son?" Frank smiled as he knew without looking what was in the bag. "That's your plan for the evening? You know what that led to last time… you," he laughed. "You'd better be careful you don't end up with an unexpected guest for the wedding in September. That could make things interesting..."

"Flowers are for my girls," his youngest grinned. "The bottle is for Grandpa for babysitting. About time we put a fifth of Jameson back in the liquor cabinet, isn't it Pop?"

Frank nodded and his thoughts shifted back to that Valentine's Day night more than thirty years ago now when a similar bottle of Jameson whiskey had rescued him from the doghouse with his beloved wife Mary and led to an entirely pleasurable evening in front of the fireplace in the den… and just over eight months later to the flustering early arrival of one tiny little Jamison Henry Reagan who stood before him now as a grown man… an NYPD sergeant, father and soon-to-be husband. _Time sure does fly,_ he thought with a smile as he watched his youngest take off his jacket and ready himself to secure his off duty weapon in the closet lockbox before stopping suddenly and dropping his forgotten coat to the floor.

"Edit Katalin," he heard Jamie gasp as he stared blankly towards the steps and Frank hurried into the living room to see what all the fuss was about. He could hardly believe his own eyes as he saw his youngest's intended standing on a step halfway down the stairs in a dress eerily similar to the one his own Mary Margaret had greeted him with on that afternoon so many years ago. Mary was brunette, Eddie blond… but the moment was like a step back in time.

Jamie's heart was stopped at the sight of his gorgeous fiancée, the love of his life. She was simply stunning, and that dress... well it made him think of some less than gentlemanly things that he had planned for later that evening. She laughed when she saw the stunned look on his face. "Take a picture, Reagan," she chided. "It'll last longer."

"Eddie," he breathed as he handed his weapon off to his father and made his way to her without another thought before grabbing her around the waist, catching her eyes and then planting a soft kiss on her lips. "You knew exactly what you were asking for when you bought that dress, now didn't you?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes, of course, lambchop," she smiled, "but you'll need to wait to unwrap that particular gift until later. We need to leave soon to make the play on time."

"Of course, the play," he muttered. Right now he would rather skip everything else and just go straight to the unveiling, to hell with the play and dinner.

"Jamie, go," she ordered with twinkling eyes as she pushed him. "Shower and shave. Kaylin is staying here. We have all night."

Frank shook his head at the strong sense of déjà vu and went ahead and put Jamie's gun safely up before returning to the kitchen and a little girl's company. He smiled at her and decided that maybe tonight would be a good time to introduce Kaylin to some memories of her Grandma Mary.

###

"Jamie, hurry!" Eddie called to him as she stood at the entrance to the Casa Duse Supper Club in Park Slope while he was busy tipping the driver of their town car. A gourmet dinner and a special showing of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" were on tap for the evening. "We're running late! They're just about done seating everyone! We need the tickets!"

"Okay, okay… I know that was my fault. I took too long to warm up in the shower," he soothed as he took them out and pushed his wallet back down in his inside suit pocket while automatically pulling his heavy overcoat closed against the harsh chill even though they were already in the building by that point. "Here you go. Dad had great seats… all the way up front," he added as they checked their coats and were immediately escorted down one of the center aisles to their table where the other young couple who would prove to be their company for the evening had already been situated with menus and looked up at them in surprise.

Eddie and Jamie both laid eyes on the completely familiar pair in disbelief. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," Eddie breathed silently, although to her credit a fairly decent fake smile remained hanging on her face as her nose wrinkled almost imperceptibly and she glanced over and met Jamie's eyes while he sighed inwardly. What she had really projected to him with that single solitary look and twitch was "You're a dead man walking, Harvard."

"Sarge!" George Emery Mahoy, Jamie's most recent former rookie partner exclaimed as he rose to his feet and extended his hand. "I didn't know you and Officer Janko would be joining us this evening!" By 'us' of course he meant himself and Addison Greene, his current interest and the former Adventure Night buddy Jamie had dated before he and Eddie had finally pulled things together after a bit of a rocky patch when he returned to work after his bout of pneumonia the previous summer. Addie was the respiratory therapist that had been assigned to him in the hospital and just happened to be a family friend as the younger sister of Joe's one-time fiancée Angela. To say that Eddie saw Addie as a former romantic rival was putting it mildly. If that wasn't complicated enough, Jamie had been the one to introduce George and Addie as an exercise to relieve boredom one afternoon when he was still confined to a hospital bed this past December after the Bridgewater building collapse. Now here they all were again and prepared to spend the entire evening together on the most romantic night of the year.

Awkward didn't even begin to cover it.

"Jamie! You're looking so well!" Addison greeted them in her usual bubbly enthusiastic manner. "And George, please don't call her Officer Janko, you're not at work, silly… it's Eddie! So good to see you again!" she exclaimed. "You look simply stunning in that dress! The color is beautiful on you!"

"Thank you, Addison," Eddie replied with a more genuine smile as Jamie pulled a chair out and she took her seat while he did the same, careful to position himself directly in between the two women, although it occurred to him that perhaps that wasn't the smartest move as now he would be forced to watch their conversation bounce back and forth like a tennis match. "I love your necklace!" she returned as she spotted the lovely sterling silver blue spinel and white sapphire infinity pendant. "Is that new?"

"Oh, yes," Addie revealed as she fingered it. "George gave it to me earlier today," she beamed. "And I heard that Jamie finally manned up and put a ring on it," she smiled and squealed when Eddie showed the beautiful custom-made halo engagement setting to her. "Aw, you did good old man!"

"George!" Jamie said as he purposefully sought to derail the jewelry discussion which inevitably threatened to turn into a wedding planning primer with any woman Eddie met within a five-block radius, and that would be… well more weird than this if that was even possible. "How are things going down at CompStat?" he questioned. After the explosive events that bitter cold evening at Bridgewater, everyone had come to the conclusion that the NYPD was far better served by utilizing the young man's special math skills in its statistical department at 1PP rather than as a patrol officer out on the street where his multiple phobias sometimes hindered his effectiveness.

"Oh, fine… fine," George answered. "I've been working on a new project to map domestic violence reports across the precincts with Chief Burgess and the Commissioner."

"Speaking of my dad," Jamie said as he used that convenient segue to continued to pry into exactly who was responsible for setting them up this way, surely it couldn't have been his own father... and so help whoever it was if this stood in the way of the things that little red dress had brought to his mind earlier. "He, um, never mentioned that you and Addie would be joining us here tonight."

"He probably didn't know," George offered by way of explanation as he put his menu down. "He gave the tickets to the Chief but his wife came down ill yesterday so David passed them on to us," he said with a huge smile as he reached over to squeeze Addison's hand in a completely smitten young lover kind of way. "Running into you two guys here is just the icing on the top of the cake!" he added. "What are the odds?"

"You tell me, George," Jamie continued as he looked over at Eddie and was relieved to see she was looking slightly less shellshocked. Maybe this evening had a prayer of ending as planned after all. _Eight weeks on the job at 1PP though and the kid's already on a first name, perk trading basis with the Chief of his department,_ Jamie thought to himself. _And I'm still out there every day in a squad car freezing my ass off._

"You know what?!" Addie looked up and enthused. "I just thought of something! This would make a great story to tell the grandkids!" she laughed as the waiter approached to take their drink order.

"Can I get you nice folks a cocktail before we get started this evening?" he asked.

"Single malt, double, neat," was Jamie's instant reply as he leaned over to whisper in Eddie's ear. "Don't worry, lambchop, I know a place we can go to make up for all of this afterwards."

"Make that two," Eddie added without a second thought. No fruity little mixed drinks for her tonight; she was certainly going to need the straight stuff and a little mercy from above to make it through this one.

###

"Look sweetheart, I have something to show you," Frank called to his young guest as she happily came over to sit on his lap in the den, her tummy full of her favorite oatmeal cookies and a grilled cheese sandwich. "Do you know who this is?" he asked as he pointed to a picture of Mary holding a newborn baby Jamie that first morning in the hospital.

"Grandma Mary," the little girl answered as she had an eidetic memory, particularly for faces, and had already been through most of the extensive collection of picture books in the house.

"How about this little guy?" he asked as he pointed to the baby.

"Nope," Kaylin answered honestly after a careful look.

"That's your daddy when he was just born and this was Uncle Danny and Auntie Erin and Uncle Joe when they were little too," he said as he showed her a different shot.

"Daddy had a mommy, too?" she asked in puzzlement, the loss of her own frequently cold and uncommitted mother, Jayne, in the car accident just six months earlier still often proved to be a source of confusion to the little girl and Jamie had thought it best not to press her with details about his own mother until she was a little older and ready to ask questions on her own. "Can she come see me?" she asked innocently.

"No, sweetheart," Frank replied as his breath caught. "Grandma Mary is in heaven right now. She passed away a few years ago, but she's always with us and we all think about her. She would have loved you very, very much, though," he added gently as he hugged her. "Today was always a special day for her and I just wanted to show you some pictures so we can remember her together. I miss her," he said as he choked up a little. No matter how much time past, Mary Margaret Reagan remained his one and only soulmate and he felt her presence with him every single day. Seeing Eddie come down those stairs in that red dress earlier had certainly been no coincidence he believed, but more like a gift and a timely reminder from his beloved wife. His warm thoughts were soon pushed aside for a moment though.

"I don't want a mommy," the little girl frowned with an unexpected reply that shook her Grandfather to the core with surprise as she looked at more images on the following pages of Jamie growing up with his proud mother often smiling next to him. Maybe this was a bad idea and his son had been right about her being too young to understand. "All mommies go in heaven," she explained as suddenly that notion made sense when it came from a two-year-old given what she had witnessed in her short life. "I want my Eddie bear," using the familiar pet name the two had devised.

"Oh," Frank answered as he considered the little girl's response carefully. He knew that the couple had not planned to broach this subject with her until after they were married so it was not his place to tackle it but it felt wrong to leave her hanging like this. "Well I know that Eddie loves you too… very, very much sweetie," he replied. "And she and Daddy will be married soon. Maybe someday you'd like to call somebody mommy again."

"Maybe," she agreed in a sing-song fashion as continued through the book. "But, me love you best Grandpa," she smiled as she gave him a big hug.

"And I love you too, my Kaylin bear," he said as he reached for a different photo album and pulled it open, eager to leave the little girl with a good memory of Mary as Jamie's mother because God help him if his son and Eddie returned tomorrow after their nice evening out together and found their precocious little girl still in anti-mommy mode after a night with Grandpa, or he'd be back in the doghouse with both of them and no amount of Jameson whiskey would fix that. "Did you see that pretty red dress Eddie was wearing tonight?" he asked the little girl as he paged to the right section when she eagerly nodded. "Well your Grandma had one almost exactly like that and a few years after your Daddy was born…" he showed her a picture of Mary all dolled up once more with tears in her eyes and a beaming little Jamie Reagan standing next to her in his very best Sunday suit, "...when he was just a little older than you are now… he got her to wear it on another Valentine's Day night when she needed it most. I think he was just five when he came home from school one afternoon…"

###

"Momma! I made you a Valentine!" Jamie exclaimed as he jumped off the bus steps with both feet right into a huge puddle to make a big satisfying splash in his rubber boots and ran to her waving a heart-shaped paper colored in red. "All by my very self!"

"Thank you, Jamie, my baby! I will cherish this forever," she said as she accepted the gift. "And I have a few cookies with pretty red sprinkles all ready for your snack."

"I love you, Momma!" he enthused as they walked back to the house while she looked around the area protectively. Jamie was in kindergarten at that point and only served a half day at school so he and Mary still had a few hours to themselves every afternoon before the older children arrived home. Today was an exception to their normal routine, however, as Henry was picking up Danny, Erin and Joe after their classes to take them to a charity basketball clinic the NYPD was hosting while Mary had planned to walk little Jamie up a few blocks to his Grandma Betty's house so she could sit him since he wasn't old enough to participate. Frank had promised his wife another extravagant Valentine's Day evening at a gala so the couple could celebrate his recent promotion to Chief of Detectives in style, and she had purchased a new daring red dress to dazzle him with just like the one that had led to the circumstances behind the birth of the happy little boy skipping along beside her at that very minute.

As was often the case when one was married to someone in Frank's position, tonight's plans had been cancelled abruptly though when a call had come through less than an hour ago relaying the news about the disappearance of another little boy no older than Jamie. Leo Gates had vanished into thin air on his short walk home from school earlier that afternoon and Frank Reagan had been put in charge of finding him… there would be no time or cause for a happy evening out unless the missing child was found immediately, and judging from the hysteria surrounding the news reports, that didn't look like it would be happening today. No, tonight Mary Margaret Reagan was determined to hold her own little boy close while she prayed for the family of the one lost and for her husband who took these types of cases to heart and would no doubt feel the grief as if he had lost one of his own if this played out the way things like this so often sadly did.

A precocious and intuitive child, little Jamie sensed his mother's angst and in true Reagan fashion was determined to figure out what was wrong. He knew his parents had plans to go out and he was supposed to be with Grandma Betty that night, so when his Mommy told him that things had been cancelled because Daddy was working and they would be staying home alone his curiosity was piqued. For her part, Mary quietly went through the regular motions of her afternoon and cleaned up in the kitchen a bit, following along with the news of the investigation into Leo's disappearance on a small television they had in there, keeping the sound off so that the reality of what his father was working on was kept from his own young and innocent son.

"Momma, why are you sad?" he had asked her at one point after finishing his cookie snack and wiping the milk off his mouth with his sleeve.

"Jamison Reagan," she'd chided. "Please use a napkin for once, and I'm just disappointed that your father and I had to cancel our plans. We'll have an evening out another day, though."

"But Daddy promised to take you to dinner, and you bought a dress," he continued. "That's not nice. Sister Emily told us that we're not supposed to break our promises," he insisted.

"Your father would never break a promise on purpose, Jamie," Mary sighed. "Sometimes he has to though when something very important comes up at work. Daddy is in charge of a lot of people now and he has to be there to make sure they are all doing a good job when something like this happens."

"Something like what, Momma? What is Daddy doing today?"

"That is none of a little boy's business," Mary scolded sadly as she continued to straighten up. "Why don't you go on up to your room and play while I start to get dinner ready for us."

"Yes, Momma," Jamie had conceded reluctantly as he got up and pushed his chair in like a good boy and took his plate to the sink. He wasn't happy with his daddy at the moment though for making his mommy sad about missing her evening and not getting to wear her pretty dress and his sharp little mind soon formulated a plan to fix that. He ran up the steps and closed the door to his room before pulling down his piggy bank from the shelf and turning it over to shake it vigorously, greedily snatching up the few coins and bills he was able to pull from it.

Mary's mommy radar had just gone off wondering what exactly her youngest son had been doing so quietly in his room for the past hour when she was surprised to hear his little voice behind her. Her eyes grew wide and tears immediately welled when she turned around to see.

"Momma, may I have the pweasure… pweasure..." he started as he stood before her dressed in his very best Sunday suit with his hair slicked back with Danny's gel, a generous portion of his father's aftershave sprinkled on and a bouquet of dried flowers he had pilfered from a vase in the upstairs hall.

"Pleasure," she corrected for him with her eyes shining.

"...pleasure of your company," he finished. "Please Momma, can you wear your dress and come with me to dinner?" he spilled out. "I don't want you to be sad."

"Well that depends on where you are planning on taking me," she answered as a few tears managed to slip down now as she looked at the blessing of this child standing before her. Somehow… somehow little Jamie Reagan always knew exactly what his mother needed on her hardest days. "That dress is only for special places, you know."

"I only have six dollars and fifty-two cents, Momma," he said as he held his hand up for her to see the few bills and coins he was holding. "Daddy says a man should pay if he asks a lady out to dinner."

"Oh, well," she answered thoughtfully with a soft smile. "It will have to be someplace pretty special for that then. You might even be able to take me to Miller's Diner to get some of their very best cheesecake if you don't mind spending all of that money. What do you think?"

"Can we, Momma? Please!" he enthused. "I want to take you there for Valentine's Day!"

"Yes, we can baby," she smiled. "You go in the living room and watch some television while I call your father to let him know we are going out and I'll go get ready. Careful not to wrinkle your suit, Jamison. A man should always look his best when he asks a lady out to dinner."

"Yes, Momma!" he cried as he happily did as he was told while Mary stepped to the phone and rang her husband's office number.

"Chief Reagan," she stated as the secretary answered the phone. "Please tell him it's his wife Mary calling, it's important," she asked and spoke his name when he picked up. "Frank, I know how busy you are today dear, but you need a bite to eat too. Can you please meet us at Miller's Diner in about an hour? There's something you need to see today…" she trailed off.

###

"And daddy made his mommy happy like that?" Kaylin asked as she looked up at Frank as he was finishing the story from that day more than twenty-five years ago now.

"Yes, baby," he said with a thick throat as the emotion had overcome him thinking about his dear Mary and a few tears had managed to find their way to the edges of his eyes as he remembered walking into that diner on that terribly hard day to find his beautiful wife sitting in a booth while dressed to the nines in a stunning red dress and heels and sharing a generous piece of strawberry cheesecake with his youngest son. "Daddy made us both very happy that day."

"Grandpa," Kaylin said as she thoughtfully used her little hand to wipe a tear from his cheek. "May I have the pweasure… pweasure…"

"Pleasure," he corrected for her with his eyes now shining.

"...pleasure of your comp'ny," she finished. "Please Grandpa, can we go have cake?" she spilled out. "I don't want you to be sad."

And that was how a slightly tipsy Jamison Reagan and Edit Janko came to find the Police Commissioner of New York City, Francis Xavier Reagan, dressed to the nines in his finest tuxedo and sitting in a booth at Miller's diner sharing a generous piece of strawberry cheesecake with his youngest granddaughter on that Valentine's Day night.

"Dad!" Jamie laughed as he held Eddie's hand while the couple made their way inside and up to the table. "I can't believe this. What are you doing here?!" Ever since that evening with his mother, cheesecake at Miller's had been the go to fix for any kind of dating disaster for the entire Reagan family. No one could call it a bad night if it ended with such a scrumptious treat.

"I have a date as you can see, Jamison," Frank replied with a wink as he nodded to the little girl who was delighted to see her Daddy and Eddie arrive. "And she wanted to treat me to the finest dinner money could buy. What about you, son? Something tells me that your evening plans might have gone awry."

"Oh, things went a little off track there for a while, but I figured a good slice of cheesecake could fix anything," he grinned. "You know how shorty here loves dessert."

"Watch it, buster," Eddie griped as she slid into the booth and stole a taste from Kaylin's spoon. "Oh my God! That's the best thing I have ever tasted!" she cried as she savored the whipped confection and looked up to meet Jamie's eyes with a mischievous sparkle. "You buy me a whole piece of that and you just might still get lucky tonight, Reagan!"

Needless to say all went well on that front and it was a blessed foursome that parted ways once more outside the little, almost nondescript family-owned diner to go enjoy the rest of their Valentine's Day plans in full. This time it was a little prompt from a loving wife and mother still with them that had made them all very happy that night while a photo of a little girl in a red jumper with leggings and a handsome gentleman dressed to the nines in a tuxedo soon joined another similar version from many years before in one of the Reagan family picture books.

* * *

 _Whew! Very happy to get this one finished in time to post on the holiday since I just got the prompt for it yesterday. For the scoop on the_ _earlier story about how Jamison Henry Reagan with an "i" came to be after a memorable Valentine's Day for Mary and Frank, visit the first three chapters of the original "Snapshots" story._

 _Next in this set of second-series snapshots was a request to see what happened when Jamie and Rick went out for that beer after the big rescue, so I'll work on that!_


	2. Opposites Attract

Chapter 2

Opposites Attract

 _Another one for our George and Addie fans since they are lovebirds now too before I get serious and go back to writing the new story for a while. Just how did these two seemingly polar opposites meet and hit it off so well? Set just a week after the explosion at Bridgewater left Jamie confined in the hospital for longer than he or anyone else liked._

* * *

" _Eddie, please… pretty please… please with sugar on top… Eddie, for the love of God!_ Please go talk to the doctors and tell them I can go home today!" a thoroughly bored and unrepentant Jamison Reagan pleaded with his girlfriend as he sat pouting and confined to a hospital bed for yet another day nearly a week after a sabotaged propane tank explosion at the Bridgewater construction site had left him trapped under a large support beam in the basement of the building and immersed in freezing cold water for nearly an hour. The resultant hypothermia and trauma had left him in cardiac arrest and subject to CPR and multiple rounds of defibrillation for nearly forty minutes once he had been pulled out from under the rubble before the doctors at St. Victor's Hospital had been able to warm him sufficiently for his heart to restart in a regular rhythm. While he had made sufficient progress in healing from a number of painful, deep bone contusions left by the heavy debris, his multiple cracked and bruised ribs were still impacting his lung function and his cardiologist was not yet wholly satisfied that it was safe to release him.

"I'm sorry, babe," she grimaced as she prepared to break the bad news to him once more. "Dr. Abrams said something was still a little high on one of your cardiac markers from this morning's blood draw, and Dr. Holden refuses to sign off on you because you still can't blow hard enough into that spirometer or whatever that thingie with the little balls in it is called… she's worried that could lead back to pneumonia, so that's a definite no-go, dear," she revealed. "No one will send you home over the weekend either, so you're looking at Monday now, minimum."

"Crap," came the muffled defeated reply as he took a pillow and jammed it down hard over his face in utter frustration.

"Better watch yourself or the nurses will have psyche down here for you in a minute," Eddie chided. "I think some of them would use almost any excuse to get you kicked off their floor. No one likes you anymore since you've stopped using the morphine pump and knocking yourself out for most of the day. You've turned into a real royal pain in the… Addison!" she exclaimed as Jamie's onetime romantic interest and current respiratory therapist knocked lightly at the doorway and entered the room, armed and ready for his afternoon session.

"JAMIE REAGAN!" Addie exclaimed as she quickly walked across the floor to the bed and yanked the pillow off his face. "NOW YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! How are we supposed to get an accurate reading for your arterial blood gases if you're suffocating yourself under a pillow before we draw them?!"

"And that is my cue to leave," Eddie offered with pursed lips and raised eyebrows as she tried to hold in the laughter. "You're in good hands now and I've got to go home and get ready for my swing shift today," she explained as she walked over and gave a glowering Jamie a kiss on the cheek. "Your dad said he would bring Kaylin and Pop by tonight when he's home from work and Erin thought she would be able to get here earlier. Play nice with the good doctors and therapists, will ya? or I'm afraid I might come back and find out one of them pumped you full of happy juice again. I'll see you tomorrow, lambchop."

"Love you too, Edit Janko," he managed with a sigh. "Be safe out there."

"Always," she affirmed with a smile before she left. "You're the major troublemaker in the family now anyway."

"Ha, ha," he offered while still looking petulant with his arms crossed as she walked out before reluctantly turning his attention to Addison. "Please tell me we're going to do something more interesting than blow bubbles or suck on a tube to make little balls bounce up and down."

"Well that depends," she answered as she began to set her equipment up on his tray. "Are you able to push that little ball up over the line consistently yet or not?"

"No."

"Well, then… got your answer, don'tcha silly? C'mon Jamie, I know it's no fun but you're not a quitter. You made it back from a point that most people don't, and you've got a gorgeous little angel and a pretty special tough-as-nails girlfriend who want you come home. You're not gonna get there unless you put in the work… just like you did when we took those rappelling lessons last summer."

"Ugh, don't remind me about that," he griped as he tried his very best to take in a deep breath and launch that effing little blue ball straight out of the plastic tube, but failed miserably. "Did'ja ever find somebody to con into jumping off those cliffs at Mohonk," he gasped as he tried to catch his breath once more while every single bone and muscle in his entire ribcage woke up and took painful notice as several small spasms left him reeling back against the bed.

"No _pe_ ," she answered with a particular emphasis on the 'p' as she made a little notation on his chart before looking at him with added concern. "Sit up and let me listen to your chest," she ordered. "You're actually doing worse than you were this morning. Deep breaths."

"Yeah, right," he huffed as he did his best. "It hurts, Ad…"

"Okay, well you've just bought yourself an express ticket to an all-expenses paid chest x-ray, slugger," she admitted worriedly as she flipped her stethoscope back around her neck and considered if it was prudent or not to give Eddie a call and have her turn around and come back here. Addie wasn't looking to panic anyone, but her gut was telling her that something was off and given Jamie's history, that could be anything from a little congestion from a cold to the start of pneumonia or at the worst a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot in the lung.

"Addie… I can't... can't… breathe!..." Jamie stuttered suddenly as he fell back against the pillow and closed his eyes while struggling for air. Addison immediately reached for the oxygen mask and hit the call button on the wall to summon help just as Eddie walked back around the corner holding the latest issue of his favorite hot rod magazine.

"I nearly got all the way to the lobby before I realized I forgot to give you your… _JAMIE!"_ she cried as she looked up and rushed over to the bed just as multiple nurses barged in. "What's… what's happening? What's wrong with him?" she demanded as one of them pulled her away.

"Eddie, I need you to go wait outside," Addie ordered as she adjusted the oxygen flow to the mask. "Page Dr. Holden and get a portable chest in here," she advised as her focus was entirely on her patient who was rasping quite loudly now.

"No, please wait!" Eddie begged as she was forced through the door and further from the room. "I need to stay! Please what's happening?"

"Someone will come get you just as soon as we know, hon," Cheryl, one of Jamie's regular nurses on the ward advised her as she continued to push her down the hall to the waiting room while Eddie could see Dr. Holden and her intern rushing down the hall from the opposite direction and entering the room.

"Please, no!" Eddie cried as she found herself turned around the corner and shoved almost directly into the arms of George Mahoy, Jamie's rookie partner who had also been targeted in the explosion, but had managed to make it out of the collapsed basement with just a few scratches after playing a pivotal role in the rescue. Despite that, Eddie still held a bit of a grudge against the young man as he had rather forcibly removed her from Jamie's side just before the beam was lifted off of him, and now here he was again wrapping his arms around her and keeping her from where she wanted to be. "Let _go_ of me, George!" she ordered as she tried unsuccessfully to twist away.

"Hey, hey… c'mon," he tried to smooth over as worry etched his face. George's own claustrophobia had left him frozen in a panic attack in that basement before the charges had been detonated by a dirty fellow sergeant, and he remained guilt-laden over the fact that it was his inaction to move when Jamie ordered him to come out that had forced his partner to follow him into the trap and left his training officer fighting for his life after the explosion. "Tell me what's going on! What's happening to the Sarge?!"

"I don't know!" she exclaimed as she shrugged him off while he remained strategically placed in the hall between her and Jamie's room to block her. "He was fine! And then I left and came back in a few minutes and he couldn't breathe! I need to go see him!" she insisted as she tried to push past once more.

George had come there today to reveal an important truth to his TO, and he was nervous as it was… this was just making everything worse and he felt his own anxiety level ratcheting up, but he forced himself to hold it together. Jamie had been one of the few superiors ever to give him a chance and show faith in him, and his partner would expect him to have his back and take care of Eddie now, so that's what he did. "No!" he said as he stepped in front of her once more. "We have to give them room to work... they're gonna take good care of him. You'll just be in the way. I'll stay here with you until they come let us know, okay? Please Eddie, sit down and let's wait. He's gonna be fine… he has to be after all this," the young man trailed off as he was finally able to get her reluctantly to follow him to a row of chairs. Mercifully it was only twenty minutes or so before Addison came out to find them with an update.

"He's fine," she assured. "I know that was scary but we think it was only an acute bronchospasm… it's a constriction of the muscle walls of the lungs, kinda like what happens in asthma. It's common in cases like this. We've given him some inhalation treatments and a relaxant which will make him feel loopy for a while. The x-ray was clean so there's no sign of pneumonia and his breath sounds are clearing up. It's a good thing we kept him here a little while longer. Dr. Holden will prescribe some medication for him to take for the next couple of weeks that should prevent this from happening again, okay? I'm so sorry, Eddie!" she empathized. "I know that was rough! You can go back in and see him now."

"Oh, thank God!" Eddie sighed in relief as she got shakily to her feet and George was quick to step in and steady her.

"Why don't you just let me walk you down there," he offered as he grabbed Eddie's arm and looked up and caught Addison's beautiful crystal blue eyes. Prior to this, George had always been present in his uniform when he had stopped in for a visit, and Addison had avowed that cops were off limits now given the pure grief that her older sister Angela had suffered over Joe when he had been killed and her reaction to Addie dating Jamie. This was the first time though that she was seeing George in his street clothes and she couldn't help but be attracted to his youthful if not handsome features. Still there was that whole cop thing, she remembered as she dissuaded herself from looking further.

For his part, George had also found Addie alluring, but there was that whole former-girlfriend-of-his-partner-slash-boss thing going on and he was quite shy about approaching anyone of the opposite sex in that manner. Not to mention the fact that he had been witness to the tribulations Jamie had gone through with Addison's adventurous side and he rightly assumed that she was probably too much woman for him anyway. Pushing those thoughts aside, the three quickly made their way back down the hall to Jamie's room where they found him awake and sitting up a bit, but resting quietly back against the bed with a fogging plastic mask still over his face as a single nurse was left in the room adjusting things and keeping a close eye on the monitors.

"I can take it from here, Cheryl," Addie offered as they entered. "Dr. Holden wanted me to stay down here for a bit until he's settled." It was soon evident though that she hadn't been kidding about the medicine loosening Jamie up a bit.

"George, m'man!" he enthused although his voice was a little muffled by the mask. "Whatcha doin' there with my girl?…" he slurred. "Can't have 'er, she's with me," he mumbled. "Did'ja come by to say hi to me, bud?" he inquired. "He's a great guy, isn't he? Best damn partner… ever..."

"Oh, brother… high is the right word," Eddie sighed, overwhelmingly relieved but finding the need to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud now at his current state. Someone had indeed obviously pumped him full of happy juice. _What a run of emotions this whole week has offered,_ she thought as she parked herself in the chair next to the bed once more and allowed herself to relax even as she pulled out her phone to text Renzulli to let him know what was going on and bang out sick before informing the rest of the Reagan clan to beware of what happened before their planned visits.

"About that, sir," George had finally screwed up the courage to confront his TO about something and he wasn't going to let a little heavy inebriation on Jamie's part get in the way. "Commissioner Reagan, um, well your dad… he offered me a position in CompStat at 1PP after I helped him with the numbers in the Denison case and I've accepted. My transfer's effective Monday," he grimaced as he waited for the reaction.

"You're _leaving_ me?" Jamie gasped after a long pause for that to catch up in his brain. "Oh, no… George... after all that hard work…" he trailed off and closed his eyes. No one else in the room was quite sure if he was awake or had drifted off until suddenly he popped back up. "S'okay, kid, I gotta tell ya sucked on the street anyway... I didn't want to fire y'er ass... like kicking somebody's… something... what Danny said… Run with the numbers, George, you're good… run with them."

"Thank you, sir. I think," the young man answered, relieved to have that off his chest but not entirely confident his sergeant was going to remember this conversation at any point in the future.

"Congratulations, George!" Eddie offered sincerely with a smile. "You did such a great job on the corruption case and that's the perfect job for you! You'll love working at 1PP!"

"He's s'not… s'not…" Jamie was obviously struggling with his speech and comprehension and yet still amusing himself along the way, "...s'not a real cop anymore... ADDIE!" he exclaimed as another mind-blowing thought occurred to him and he opened his eyes wide and looked at her. "George is s'not a cop now! You could go out with him and Angie won't care!" he revealed with unfettered excitement now as it felt like he was onto something big. "George is such a GREAT GUY, you'll LOVE him," he added. "He's not scared of heights either… I asked 'im for ya! George!" he exclaimed as he shifted his focus and his eyes blinked heavily with the effort. "List'n man, all ya gotta do is jump off some cliffs, easy peasy! She's a great girl, I'm tellin' ya… just hated... the damn... cliffs…" he trailed off as it was apparent now that he had exhausted his efforts and a good deep sleep was claiming him, mercifully.

"Stoned ex-girlfriend matchmaking," Eddie muttered under her breath. "What's next?"

"And he's out," Addie laughed as she noted the monitors and was satisfied with all the readings. "He's probably going to stay that way for quite a few hours now; the nurses will be happy to keep an eye on him from the desk. It'll be the first break he's given them all day. Eddie, if you'd like to go home I can pop in and check on him throughout the rest of the afternoon and let you know how he's doing. I'm working a double so I'll be here until late."

"That would be great, Addie. Thanks." Eddie acknowledged as she gathered herself and reconsidered her scheduled tour. "I've missed so much time off work this past week it's eating into my vacation days and we're supposed to take a trip to California between the holidays. He'll be okay for that, right? This adoption stuff is supposed to be settled next week, and he wants to take Kaylin out to visit his friend Spencer."

"No, that should be fine, this was only a minor setback," Addison assured. "We've adjusted his meds and if everything looks okay over the weekend he should still be out of here Monday."

"Okay, good," Eddie breathed in relief. "The last thing he needs is any more stress worrying about that trip," she revealed, unaware that Ms. Adams was filing a protest with the court at that very moment over Kaylin's near-finalized adoption that would have the entire Reagan family on a razor's edge for the next three weeks. "Tell him I'll be here tomorrow and don't hesitate to call me with anything, please!"

"I promise!" Addie vowed as she watched Eddie hurry from the room while she continued to make some notes at the keyboard. She was surprised when she glanced back up and saw that Jamie's now ex-partner was still standing next to his bed looking white as a sheet. "George! Hey, George… you alright? Something wrong?" she asked.

"He's really gonna be okay, right?" the young man asked in a near whisper.

"Yeah, he's really going to be okay," she assured. "He just had a lot of heavy bruising and cracked ribs so it's been hard for him to take deep breaths or cough to clear out any congestion. He'll get past it though, it'll just take a little time… is there something else?" she wondered as she studied him for a moment. "Listen, don't take what he just said there seriously… we gave him some pretty strong stuff. He hardly had a clue we were even here."

"He's right though, you know," George admitted as he chewed his lip furiously. "I'm a coward and I did suck at patrol, and he almost got killed because of it. He saved my life, the only guy that ever gave me half a chance… and I just lied to him because I was afraid to tell him the truth."

"George what are you talking about?" Addie questioned. "You're not working at 1PP now?"

"No, I am," he revealed with a heavy sigh. "I just didn't tell him that the Commissioner only offered me that job after I told him I was quitting. After what Sarge did for me… I just quit and I was too chicken to tell him."

"Oh," Addie replied softly while she thought about it for a moment. "Are you going to be good at your new position?" she asked.

"Well, yeah… I mean I think so. Stuff like that just comes naturally to me."

"And Jamie knows that, right?"

George could only nod at that point.

"Well then that's what he would hope for you. I know him… he only ever wants people to do their best. If he kept you under his wing all this time and trusted you to get involved in things like this corruption scandal it's because he had faith that's what you'd shine at. Just take that ball and run with it, like he told you… more or less," she laughed. "I think he was really trying there, but don't quote me on it." She paused for a second as she considered one of the other gems Jamie had managed to impart in his inebriated state… maybe it was time she listened too.

"Hey, George. You got a few minutes? It's my break time, and I was on my way down to the cafeteria for some coffee. Want to join me? We'll let sleeping beauty lie here and rest. I could always use another buddy to talk to," she added with a smile and tempting flash of those crystal blue eyes.

"Sure," he offered, his angst forgotten as he was instantly smitten. "Not quite sure I'm ready to jump off a cliff though," he laughed.

"Oh, I've got plenty of time to change your mind," she offered as they walked out of the room together. "Have you ever tried skydiving?"

"Don't fall for it, George… heh, fall for it… not a coward... you're a good guy," Jamie mumbled in his sleep with a little snicker before the soft darkness claimed him for the rest of the evening.

* * *

 _Sorry, I know I promised a one-shot with Rick and his beer, but I thought the story behind George and Addie getting together was worth being told and that would have happened first so I'll try to go forward in order and then maybe reshuffle the chapters to align the Valentine's Day story where it belongs later. Next up by request will be a multi-shot on how Ms. Adams met her end._


	3. Boom, Like That (Part I)

Chapter 3

Boom, Like That

 _Still trying to stay in order here. Have no fear, Rick's Beer is a planned chapter! Should have come up with an interim story called "Three Lost Weeks," but it's fun trying to write for these requests. Back to the point, it seems no one wants me to let the nasty Ms. Adams off the hook so here's a multi-shot one for that. I see Frank taking it upon himself to bring in some of his well-hidden Godfather-style dark arts into play here to make absolutely sure his little sweetheart Kaylin is safe. He did it for Garrett, so no doubt would do it for her too. Inspired by a Mark Knopfler song "Boom, Like That" which is written about the underhanded things done by Ray Kroc, the guy who brought MacDonald's across America… awesome song, look it up and you'll think of that guitar riff throughout this chapter. To paraphrase:_

 _Or my name is not Kroc, it's FranK with a K  
Like crocodile, but not spelt that way, now  
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat  
FranK-style, boom like that_

 _Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B.  
You wanna make a dream reality  
Competition? send 'em south  
If they're gonna drown, put a hose in their mouth_

* * *

"We should have told him last night," Erin fretted as she followed her father and his trusted bodyguard Detective Jimmy Nuciforo into the elevator on the ground floor of St. Victor's Hospital early Saturday morning while on their way up to visit Jamie as he had yet to be released following the injuries he suffered in the Bridgewater building collapse.

"Honey, you know how your brother gets on these drugs, he was still stoned out of his senses last night with whatever they gave him to help him breathe yesterday," Frank Reagan frowned as he turned around and hit the button for the third floor. "He barely knew we were in the room when he was awake for those few minutes. Besides, Eddie needs to be there to hear this too, and she was on tour last night."

"So it would have been the perfect time," Erin insisted. "It's gonna kill him outright; you know it will," she added, shaking her head. "Dad, you seriously need to have somebody standing there ready to hit him with another tranquilizer dart or he'll try to get up and walk right out of here when we tell him that Ms. Adams filed her intent with the court for a final objection from CPS. I still can't believe that wicked witch is doing this to them. He's not in any shape to deal with this… mentally or physically."

"And I'm not going to let him," Frank assured her. "I've already made a few calls. I'm hiring William Ashe from Ashe and Patton to represent us. He's the preeminent attorney for family law in the city. Bill's assured me that this is just a grandstanding attempt by Ms. Adams and she doesn't have cause. The best she can do is block the adoption from being finalized until the end of the month. She only has a fifteen business-day window to lodge the formal complaint."

"Which will take them through the week in between Christmas and New Year's and you know what he had planned for Eddie out in California with Spencer, don't you? He'll never rest if this is still up in the air... and I don't know how you think you're going to talk Jamie of all people into stepping out of this and let another lawyer take over when it's Kaylin's custody on the line. Not gonna happen," she insisted. "Even if nothing comes of it, she's already ruined his plans… and Dad, I gotta tell you, this Ms. Adams… she's gotten away with stuff like this before… once with a judge's family. Don't underestimate her."

"I'm not underestimating anyone," Frank gruffed as the door dinged and they stepped out after Detective Nuciforo cleared the hall. " _Wisdom prepares for the worst, but folly leaves the worst for the day when it comes."_ he quoted. "Richard Cecil. Trust me darling, I'll _handle_ it. Kaylin isn't going anywhere, there's no need to worry. That's what you have to convince your brother of. He needs to focus on healing right now and the three of them will make that trip to California if I have to carry him out on the tarmac and put him on the plane myself. I'm not going to have this ruining any of his plans. This will end before that."

Erin turned to her him and pursed her lips. She was not naive enough to believe that someone who had climbed the ladder through the department to his position as Police Commissioner did not have the ways and the means to have certain situations "handled" under the radar, but it was a dark art and not something her father ever really spoke about. "Boom, like that you mean," she muttered.

Frank's mustache wrinkled as he returned the look and stood up straighter, rocking back on his heels. "Between us, if it comes down to it... yes," he nodded, although it didn't please him to know that one of his children could read his intentions like that. "Now, let's get this over with. After what happened yesterday, I did tell Dr. Holden we needed to give him some upsetting news so he will have a little something in his morning cocktail to… let's just say prepare him. We just need to wait until he's had that. He's not walking out of here until he's had time to process this, trust me."

"DAD!" Erin gasped. "I wasn't serious before!"

"I'm _handling_ it," Frank insisted with a frown. " _By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail._ Benjamin…"

"...Franklin. Yeah, I know!" Erin retorted. "But your own son?"

"He won't even realize it; I'd do it to my own mother, if needed… and you know how your Grandma Betty was. Let's go," he insisted as he walked the short distance down the hall to Jamie's room and entered only to find an empty bed and Eddie sitting alone in the chair reading a magazine.

"Frank… Erin," she looked up in surprise. "I thought you two were here last night. I wasn't expecting anyone so early… is everything alright?" she questioned as she caught an uneasy vibe emanating from them.

"Yes, of course. We just needed to talk to Jamie about something on the case, and he was not really… present last night. Where is he?" Frank pried.

"Oh, Cheryl has him up walking laps," Eddie revealed, assuming that he was talking about the Denison investigation. "He should be back soon though, they've been out for quite a while already. He did much better with his breathing this morning too," she enthused. "Looks like he'll come home Monday for sure now. I guess that twelve hours of dead sleep he had last night was the ticket," she smiled but her expression soon fell as it was not returned by either of the Reagans in the room. "Something is wrong, isn't it?" she deflated as she looked back and forth between them. "Please tell me…"

"Eddie, I will explain everything, but I need you to put up a strong front for Jamie," Frank revealed. "Ms. Adams is back to her bag of tricks again trying to delay things with the adoption is all," he assured. "It's being taken care of, but I don't want him getting upset so please follow my lead on this. Let him get settled when he comes back and wait for me to bring it up."

"Oh, no… not now!" Eddie breathed with wide eyes. Even as a newcomer to the family she could sense the tension in his voice, but if there was one thing she had learned it was that Frank Reagan prepared himself for every situation and it was best not to get in his way when he was taking the lead. She nodded and quickly wiped a sniffle and turned away to compose herself as the nurse led Jamie in from the hallway.

"Hey, look who's up and around!" Frank smiled as his son gingerly walked into the room on his nurse's arm dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. "No walker and real clothing… looks like they're getting set to kick you out of here."

"Hey, Dad, sis," he greeted them a bit tiredly as he was helped back into bed and the nurse settled him in. "Cheryl here either wants me home, or she's trying to kill me off... you'll have to ask her which one it is. I lost track of how many times we went around the block today," he griped. "She wore me out."

"Oh, definitely home," Cheryl smiled as she adjusted things and hooked him back up. "They track bad outcomes here, and I don't need you on my record although swing shift left a note last night thanking us for drugging you to the gills for them last evening. Just give me a minute to get his meds on board and I'll be out of everyone's hair," she added with a soft nod at Frank that didn't go unnoticed by his daughter.

"Got hooks everywhere, don't you?" she hissed.

"Hush," he replied.

"Alright, Jamie. Looks like you're all set," Cheryl offered after she injected things as necessary into his port. "Nothing is on the schedule for you besides lunch until three when Addison comes back, so try to get some rest. You look pretty tired from your walk," she added deliberately before smiling and making her way out after a few more minutes.

"Yeah, I guess m'm," he admitted as he sank back down against the pillow. "Sorry guys, seems like I've been doing a lot of sleeping lately when you two show up," he sighed. "I must be so out of shape… 'm legs feel so heavy now..." as a soft warm buzz descended.

"Oh, it's no problem, son. You can just relax and take it easy," Frank spoke up a little louder, trying to get a sense of where they stood. The dosage had to be just right but luckily Dr. Holden had lots of practice prescribing for Jamie. Eddie looked up at Erin in surprise when she realized what had just happened, but all she got was a set of raised eyebrows with a smirk and a nod in return from where Jamie's sister stood leaning up against the wall. "We just had a few things to talk to you about."

"Well I'll be damned," Eddie muttered to herself. "Remind me never to get on _his_ bad side."

"How are you feeling?" Frank continued.

"Just a little… fuzzy," Jamie answered. "S'okay, I'll just rest my eyes. What's up?"

"Erin got a call late yesterday afternoon from Judge White's court since you listed her as an alternate contact while you were in here." Frank tread carefully.

"S'good. They were supposed to give us the date for the rescheduled hearing this coming week," Jamie noted agreeably, his eyes still closed as he rested comfortably on the bed. _Got it just right,_ Frank thought with relief as he sat back a bit.

"Yes, about that, Jamie," Erin interjected while being careful to project her voice. "They had to push the final hearing back a little," she admitted while scrunching up her face and waiting for the expected blowup. It didn't come. _Damn him,_ she shook her head and made a face at her father. _I wonder how many times he's pulled something like this on the rest of us._

"S'kay, docket m'st be full. First up next week, then," he surmised still drifting in a pleasant state.

"Actually it's looking more like the end of the month at the earliest now," Frank added, taking the bull by the horns himself. One tired hazel eye opened and planted itself directly on him; the jig was up and Eddie was looking on anxiously herself now, having remained a passenger on the ride so far as requested.

"Why?" came the cold question. No amount of drugs was going to mask what followed.

"Ms. Adams," Erin began as she watched the eyeball roll back in Jamie's head at the mention of her name and then decided to rip the bandaid off in one quick swoop since he hadn't made a move yet. "She's filed an intent for a final objection from CPS citing the fact that you made yourself unavailable for the last scheduled hearing."

"Made myself unavailable," he echoed as he sat up now further on the bed with both eyes wide open and Eddie's hands came over to hold him down as he fought to balance himself. " _I made myself unavailable!"_ he seethed as he blinked hard. "How? By doing my job and having an effing four-story building blow up and fall down on top of me!"

By now the little sway affecting him was evident to everyone in the room and had not escaped Jamie's attention as somehow his legs were refusing to do his bidding at the moment and he could not convince them to swing themselves over the side of the bed where he wanted them to go. His gaze immediately shifted from them to Frank. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he barked at his father, using more lung capacity than he had for more than a week, followed immediately by a cough and a grimace as he curled back up and sought to protect his damaged ribs.

"Son, you need to take a moment to hear me out. I spoke to Dr. Holden, and we thought it best to give you something to relax you a little before you could react and hurt yourself. We want to get you home, but you still have a lot of healing to do and walking out of here angry and half-cocked would put you in jeopardy, especially after what happened yesterday. You need to take a deep…" Frank paused with regret at that unfortunate choice of words. "You need to listen."

"Or else, right?" came the soft gasp. "Tell her."

"Jamie, please don't make yourself sick again," Eddie begged as she hovered over him and tried rubbing his back to sooth him. "What does this mean?" she demanded as he was not able to respond so she looked up at Frank and Erin. "It's just a delay tactic, right? She's just doing this to be a bitch. Judge White will still sign off on everything, we just have to wait three more weeks. It's not the end of the world… it doesn't mean they can still take Kaylin away from us?"

"Jamie, Dad's hiring Bill Ashe to take care of this for you," Erin added. "He's the best in family law. You don't have to worry about anything."

"So you're in the dark too," Jamie retorted as he looked at her before turning on his back and scooching himself up on the bed with effort, determined to fight off his father's 'helpful' intervention for as long as possible. "Why would he need to do that if it's just a delay tactic? Why would he do this to me over that? Think, Erin," he added before he turned his eyes to his father and huffed. "Tell them both then. You should have had Dr. Holden hit me with the good stuff if you wanted to try to slide this one past me," he challenged even as he put his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes as his valiant effort to fight off the effects of the medicine was taking its toll.

"Dad?" Erin asked quizzically as Eddie locked eyes on Frank at the same time. "What's he talking about?"

"Yeah, tell them, _Pop…_ and you better plan on keeping me… down… for… a while," he trailed off with an implied threat.

"Jamison Reagan, how on earth did you hear about _that?_ " Frank sighed as he glanced at his son and looked at the two women. While he regretted having to use these measures against him, it was evident now it was the right call or his youngest would have been halfway uptown on his way to the courthouse to challenge it by now. Somehow Jamie had managed to keep himself abreast of every possible obstacle that could affect Kaylin's adoption process… even from his bed in here. The only reason he didn't already know about the filing was he had been drugged to the gills the previous afternoon as the nurse had mentioned. Maybe his boy had his own magical skills in the dark arts, he pondered. "Ms. Adams _is_ using this as a delay tactic, but Jamie's right… there's probably more to it than that." he revealed.

"You have your ways… I have mine... _by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,"_ came the mocking parroted line. "Right, Pop?"

"Jamie, you don't have to be insolent," Frank sighed. "Late this past week…"

"Friday morning," came the interruption once again from the unrepentant man whose body might be heavy and sluggish, but who refused to let his mind shut down with it.

"On Friday morning, Judge White announced she is taking an extended medical leave as of the first of the year… something about having major back surgery, so all her open cases will be transferred to Judge Castor."

"Might as well be joined at the hip with Adams," Jamie forced out as his eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling. "Tell them… she's never lost a ruling in front of him. Not ever… no way we get a court date with White between the holidays on short notice if that complaint is filed on the last day… too late… Kaylin's case will go to Castor… they'll delay everything… Eddie, we'll lose her..." he grimaced at the forced deep breaths that statement caused him to take and started to look physically ill.

Eddie gasped as she once again did her best to minister to him and Erin straightened up and looked at her father. "Is this true?" she demanded.

"Yes," Frank revealed reluctantly since he had hoped to keep this part quiet and deal with it by himself… keeping it well under the radar which was so much easier to do if it had stayed there in the first place. "But only if the objection actually gets lodged… Bill is already working on this… he'll have us in court the minute that filing period is over. Jamie, I assure you… I will handle this. Those papers will be signed… the only reason they weren't last week is because there was no attorney or anyone from the family present… you tried to do this on your own and none of us could have seen this coming. Bill has a whole staff… son, I promise you we will NOT lose that little girl," he vowed straight up. "Kaylin is part of our family… she's not going anywhere. I give you my word…"

"She'll file it," Jamie managed. "You know she will… you can't stop her from doing that… we'll lose her..." he finished as an alarm started sounding on one of his monitors and Cheryl rushed back in the room from the hallway where she had been hovering nervously trying to give them enough time to finish since she had noticed the readings start to track poorly.

"I'm sorry, Commissioner," she stated as she worriedly began adjusting things and lowering the bed as Eddie helped straighten Jamie out and get the pillows where they belonged before she climbed in the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around while whispering to him as they both were in tears over this news and the threat to their new family. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave…" the nurse continued to speak to Frank and Erin. "His blood pressure is much too high now. Any more of this and we'll be keeping his company for a lot longer than Monday."

It was at this point with the sight of his son making himself ill over what should be an almost automatic court ruling and a happy time in their lives that Frank completely flipped a mental switch that had thus far been reserved for very few occasions and fewer people. Ms. Adams may have gotten things over on others, but Francis Xavier Reagan seeing red in full out papa and grandpa bear mode was a force all on its own. Unknown to everyone at the time, things she had already set in motion would come back to haunt the entire family once more in the following months, but on this point… on this challenge she would personally lose and he would see that it never happened to another child or family in his city again.

* * *

 _Okay, so I myself would not want to tick off Frank like that and it's obvious that Ms. Adams is on her way down. This interim story looks like it will need to be a three-shot to cover all of that. Next Jamie's made it out of the hospital, but only as far as supervised daycare at the family home as he and Henry have a chat about what's happening and his grandfather urges him to keep his plans for the trip while letting his father handle things._


	4. Boom Like That (Part II)

Chapter 4

Boom, Like That (Part II)

"Hey… soup and sandwiches good for lunch?" Henry called out from the kitchen as he puttered around in the early afternoon. "I made your grandmother's minestrone recipe… I think I got the onions and celery balanced out. Last time I tried it with scallions and everyone needed breath mints for a week. The vegetables are good for you and the broth will warm you up."

"Sounds fine, Pop," came the unenthused answer drifting in from under a blanket on the couch in the living room as Jamie did not appreciate being placed on house arrest once more, but Eddie had refused to go to work and leave him alone in his apartment for so many hours with an energetic toddler to supervise so he was under forced daycare watch at the Reagan family home for now while she was on shift. Kaylin was busy with a new coloring book under her great-grandfather's eye in the kitchen at that very moment. It was better than the hospital, but also meant a certain blond conveniently dropped him off each day and kept the keys to the car from him while his wallet had mysteriously been "misplaced" somewhere in the apartment to further hinder any thoughts of taking a ride uptown to involve himself in any of the legal wrangling now entrusted to the esteemed William Ashe from Ashe and Patton. Not that Jamie would have done himself much good walking into a courthouse or a firm like that in sweats and a t-shirt, the only attire Eddie was allowing for him anyway these days as she had taken her assigned job of keeping him out of trouble to the extreme. She'd even carried his coat and shoes out with her today after she dropped the two of them off at the house this morning, sensing that after three days of this he was about to make a break for it.

His shoes… she took his shoes, damn it.

A close inspection revealed that everything remotely useable was gone from his room upstairs too, and Danny's bedroom was locked. Jamie had to admit that Eddie had put some serious thought into this… still there were ways around these hurdles, but not with the blue eagle eyes of a former Police Commissioner on him constantly.

Right now as much as he hated to admit it, he was screwed.

"C'mon," Henry chided as he came around the corner with a spoon in his hand and an apron on, "is it really so bad to be keeping an old man company during the day?"

"Would you be sitting here, Gramps?" Jamie asked point blank. "If it was one of your kids… if it was Dad they were going to take from you… would you be happy sitting here?"

"No, son," Henry said as he settled down on the chair, still keeping Kaylin in his line of sight. "If I was in your position… no I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd damn sure be glad I had him in my corner if I was," he paused for a second and looked at his grandson. "Let me ask you a question," Henry said as he sat back. "If you were able to walk out of here right now and your father stepped away from this… how would you fix this situation by yourself?"

"I… I don't know," Jamie admitted in frustration. "I've been over it in my head a thousand times…"

"As I understand it, you can't… right? She's got you in some kind of legal loop and even if nothing comes of this complaint she wins at her end game… she gets you into this other judge's court so she can jerk your chain around a little more. The only way this works before that is if no complaint is filed and this Judge White signs off before she leaves on her sabbatical."

"Yeah."

"Which is why this other lawyer guy your father hired has gotten them to leave an unofficial spot open on the calendar for that since he's buddy-buddy with the clerk, right?"

Jamie nodded with a frown… point one for Billy boy.

"Do you trust your father when he tells you he's gonna handle it?"

"I just don't see how…"

"Jamie, you do know how. Sometimes people in our position… we have ways to get things done behind the curtains. I know when I was PC there were times…" Henry advised with a pause as he considered the right approach for Jamie with his unwavering sense of morality. "Now in my day maybe I wasn't always all the way on the side of right… sometimes I let the ends justify the means, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. We were in a different time back then, but your father… he's smarter than I was and he's got that damn huge ethical chip on his shoulder that you've inherited. He handles things in his own way, but it's a real art with him. If he goes after this Adams woman and gets her on something to back her off this case it'll be deserved, of that you can be sure. You need to trust him... don't you? You know how much he loves that little girl in there… as much as he loves you… he's not gonna let anything happen to either of you, and if it went that far..."

"What if there's nothing there?"

"With this woman and the way she acts? C'mon there's always something… and remember she brought this on herself with all that talk about power and privilege when she's pulling things like this with the life of a little girl on the line."

"Yeah, I mean I know…" Jamie hedged as he looked down and played with the hem of the blanket. "And if it comes down to it... something goes boom, like that, right?" he muttered, not ashamed to admit that particular phrase made him uneasy as a carryover from another era. There had been times he wondered if maybe his mother was right… if he was too sensitive to be a cop… too sensitive to be the PC without a doubt. He'd never have the heart or rather the balls to do some of the things that were required to hold that office and sit in that chair… even now with Kaylin's custody at stake, it still left him with a sour pit in his stomach.

"You got it," Henry affirmed. "So answer me this then… why did Eddie have to walk out of here with your shoes this morning?" he questioned. "You just told me yourself there's nothing else you can do, and you trust your Dad will take care of what needs to be done… seems to me the best thing for everyone including that little girl in there and Eddie would be for you to rest up and get yourself better so that the three of you can take that trip you've been planning and move on with your life. It's about time, Jamison Reagan."

"How can I even think about that now?" Jamie questioned with a heavy sigh. "I haven't even been able to go pick up Eddie's ring… I planned to that night with Danny… you know before…" he couldn't even bring himself to talk about that time spent trapped in the basement at Bridgewater yet. "Besides, I'm grounded, remember?… not to mention shoeless," he griped.

"Heh… she's a spunky one, that Eddie; she's good for you. Reminds me a bit of my Betty that way, but I tell ya what," Henry said shaking his spoon at him. "You promise to play nice and give up this idea of sticking your neck into any of this, and I'll talk her into leaving your shoes and coat here tomorrow. It's Friday and we can get Nicki to stay with Kaylin since she doesn't have classes and you and I will catch a ride with your brother out to Gillespie's jewelry store and we'll get that taken care of, alright? I'm anxious to see what you came up with for the setting between your mother's stone and Betty's pendent… you'll have pieces of two strong Irish women watching over Eddie and your marriage; can't go wrong with that. Have a little faith in everything else, son."

"I'll try, Pop," Jamie answered before he smirked a little and glanced up with the devilish look of the longtime baby of the family. "But unless you're paying for the ring, you'll need to convince her to give my wallet back too."

"Well, I'll work on that, now let's get you some of that good soup and a grilled cheese sandwich," Henry huffed as his grandson rolled his eyes at the mention of Kaylin's favorite food which by all rights should have been coming out of everyone's ears by now. "I know how you love those."

###

"Robert, you can stop the car here. I need to get out and stretch my legs," Frank informed his driver who dutifully pulled the dark SUV to a rest near the entrance to one of the fishing piers surrounding New York Harbor with a view of the Statue of Liberty in the distance. "I'll just be a few minutes," he advised as Detective Nuciforo got out of the front seat to spot him while Garrett rolled his eyes and looked up from his phone before his boss stepped out of the car.

"It's twenty degrees out there," he noted with a sigh as he peered over his glasses. "You really want to slip and fall on that black ice again? Because I have to tell you I wouldn't mind working out of your house for a few more days with Henry making lunch for us. I haven't had soup like that since last time."

"He's too busy watching Jamie and Kaylin. Besides, I'm trying to stay in shape for the holidays if anyone asks," Frank bantered back irritably. "What with all these parties you drag me too at this time of year… the eggnog and whatnot. You know what that means." The New York City Police Commissioner had been in a foul mood all week now and most of his subordinates had refrained from questioning his actions or engaging in any unnecessary small talk as they assumed this was still over his outrage at the corruption found in the legal department at 1PP and the attack on his son, but his DCPI knew better and was determined to keep trying to lighten the mood.

"Sure," Garrett sighed. "No soup for me," he mumbled under his breath. "Bet Kaylin gets one of those good grilled cheese sandwiches too," he added.

"You say something?" Frank barked as he got out of the car and pulled his coat closed.

"I said have a good walk," Garrett replied at a higher volume until the door slammed shut to cut him off. "And remind me never to piss in your cornflakes if I may borrow a phrase," he noted with a frown as he continued his work. He had long ago accepted the fact that there were some things that Commissioner Reagan was required to do that were better left in the dark for everyone else.

The cold, damp weather was keeping all but the most stalwart New Yorkers inside, and certainly there was little reason for anyone to be sightseeing off the pier today, however Frank did not hesitate to stride purposefully out to the end of the span to stand at the rail where a lone angler was braving the elements and casting a line into the current.

"Helluva day to be out here," the man commented without so much as a glance in the Commissioner's direction.

"Sure is," Frank agreed as he stared straight out across the water and pulled his overcoat tighter. "You land anything yet?"

"Nah, just a couple of nibbles… seems like I'm only after a little minnow, but you… you're looking pretty lucky today. I bet if you threw a line out there you'd be happy with the catch."

"You don't say," Frank murmured thoughtfully as he pursed his lips and adjusted his sunglasses. "Think I'd need a flashy spinner for top bait?"

"Nope, I'm using a heavyweight. The minnow I'm after swims with a real bottom-feeder, almost every night. Gotta go deep in the slime to hook that one… picky about lures though, only likes the ones that look like small fry. Probably snagged a few hundred thousand of them to flash around and trade with his buddies. Facing a long time on federal ice if he gets caught."

Frank immediately tensed up at the implication… the worst of the worst. "Really?" he asked. "Small fry, huh?"

"Yeah, and this is the part where you're lucky and get to keep the stink off your hands… the funny thing is this scumsucker's had a net around him for months already and doesn't know it. The sharks eyeballing him were just waiting to see what else they could snag before they pulled it in. DA's already got him hook, line and sinker. A tipoff to the right boat to give them a heads up on how to time it and that minnow would be sure to get caught up in a very public way… definitely would force her to swim away and find another pond at the very least if she doesn't end up filleted right along with the rest of them considering most of the stench is located right in her very own tank. No way you can hang out in a rotten school of crappies like that and not know what's going on."

"Interesting," Frank mused. "These guys with the net, how much notice do they need?"

"Oh," the man replied as he finished reeling in his line and paused to recast; he had played this role of an invisible trusted 'fixer' in the NYPD for many years and his identity was unknown to virtually everyone with the exception of the PC who had handpicked him for the job before that title was even his. "Like I said, they're pretty much ready to go. Captain Thomas says he can bring the boat into the harbor that Monday, the day after Christmas to maximize the catch. That work for you, skipper?"

Frank pursed his lips while nodding his agreement to silently to give the order, and considered the fact that Jamie, Eddie and Kaylin were due to fly out to California on that date. He knew that Ms. Adams would wait until Wednesday of that week to file her complaint to minimize the chance there would be time for the ruling to come from Judge White's bench before the cases were turned over to Castor. By that point if all went well with the little planned fishing expedition, Adams would have more pressing problems on her hands with no time to recoup and refocus on them, and Kaylin's final hearing could slide into that conveniently open time slot on Thursday that Bill Ashe had sweet-talked the clerk into, giving Jamie plenty of time to relax and carry out his plans later in the week on New Year's Eve.

The Reagans would start the year off with one official new precious member, and another under contract, he chuckled inwardly… all because Ms. Adams chose poorly when it came to her live-in boyfriend, leading to a public arrest with her in the picture and scandalous headlines, particularly for the head of a CPS office. So be it after the grief she had caused for them and other honest families, not to mention the children involved in the adoptions as well as the welfare of the small ones the Special Victims Unit would be able to save from the same fate as the others being so coldly traded over the Internet fish market by Mr. Scumsucker. God, he loved it when a plan came together, even more so when there was not one iota of it that would keep him awake at night. His hands were indeed clean, but to keep them so the details would have to remain with him alone… he was going to have to ask the family to believe even when this came down to the last minute, and particularly for Jamie and Eddie... to go to California based on their faith in him. Sometimes it all boiled down to a fortunate stroke of serendipity, and a boom like that was easy to live with, especially when one was prepared in this instance to take it much further if needed.

"You know," he started before turning around for the short walk back to his waiting SUV, "I think this cold weather has made me hungry for soup."

* * *

 _Tsk, tsk, Ms. Adams... one does need to watch the company you keep, but she's already done more harm than anyone could imagine and what's behind that will come out shortly in the sequel to "Water Under the Bridge." So Frank did get lucky in this instance in that the dark art only involved some investigation by sources unnamed, and an implied order to move up the timetable on an operation already in the works to "maximize the catch." I do wonder who started that investigation months ago though... hmm. The question of how far Frank might go if needed to protect one of his own if he had to do it without the resources of his office could be the subject of an interesting collaboration in the werks (ha!) for another story down the road, but I digress. Next up in the last part of this three-shot, big brother finally gets to take someone to the jewelry store to pick up a certain item, and the rest of the family must convince Jamie and Eddie to have the faith to leave things in their hands and take that memorable trip with Kaylin._


	5. Boom Like That (Part III)

_Can I get some prayers, good healing thoughts, wishes… whatever you believe in or can spare for the little girl Kaylin is loosely based on, p'ease? A friend's 3yo daughter… she was very sick with the RSV virus for ten days and had to be rushed 2 hours away to a major children's hospital for emergency surgery for complications. Her daddy's a mess and treats her just as I write for Jamie… great guy, coach and dedicated role model for hundreds of kids that respect him. Thanks!_

* * *

Chapter 5

Boom, Like That (Part III)

"C'mon Harvard, chin up," Danny ordered as he looked at his little brother hunched over against the door with his coat zipped up to his chin and arms wrapped around himself in the passenger seat next to him while they were paused at a stoplight. "At least she gave your shoes back today," he snickered. "God, you're gonna love marriage… Eddie's already a pro at controlling you and she comes with her own set of cuffs."

"Shut up, Danny… and for the love of all that's holy will you please stop aiming for every single pothole in the street!" Jamie grimaced as he clenched his jaw once more as the green Jeep bounced through another asphalt crater on its merry way to Gillespie's Jewelry for Eddie's ring with three Reagan men on board. "I think it's time you get out of the Stone Age and find yourself a new car… maybe one with actual shocks. I mean does this one even have airbags? How can you drive your family around in it and not worry? How about heat?" he added as his teeth chattered. "Ever hear of that little luxury?"

"The boy's right about the heater, Daniel," Henry offered from the back seat while he was paging through the morning paper as he listened to the normal brotherly banter in front of him. "It _is_ like an icebox in here."

"Hey, you guys were the ones that called me looking for a ride and what do you want? It's New York City in the middle of winter," the older brother reminded. "There are more potholes than tourists and it takes a while for the motor to to get warm, besides it's paid for and it runs," Danny growled as he gave his brother another sideways glance. "And yes it has a few airbags. Man, you've really become Mr. Mom lately, haven't you? I mean you were the one that used to drive around in a forty-year-old car that definitely had no safety equipment and had a dash that was hard as a rock. I can't for the life of me figure out how you came out of that accident at the pier when you totalled it with only bruised ribs."

"Please don't talk about… my ribs!" Jamie gasped and then remained quiet for several more bumpy blocks before chiming in again. "C'mon! STOP! Please Danny… pull over!" he begged urgently as he went three shades closer to ghostly pale and held his stomach tighter.

"Oh, no for Christ's sake! NOT IN MY CAR!" the oldest Reagan brother bellowed as he quickly pulled over to the curb before he realized the true cause behind the distress. While distracted with the back and forth exchange over the trip, he had turned onto Amsterdam Avenue and driven directly past the Bridgewater construction site. They were now parked almost smack dab in front of what little was left of the building where Jamie had for all intents and purposes lost his life two weeks earlier when that explosion had nearly leveled it with Paul Denison's own attempt to make something go boom and take two cops out of the picture… it hadn't been until the doctors were able to warm him up at the hospital that his heart had started beating normally again. Now George was gone on to bigger and better things with a new job at 1PP and Jamie was left gaping at the hole he had been pulled from. Danny slammed his fists down on the wheel in anger at himself for messing up like this as his little brother slipped out of the passenger-side door and stood in the frigid air staring at the rubble.

"Daniel…" Henry started as he watched his youngest grandson walk up to the perimeter fencing before stopping and standing still.

"I know… I'm going, Pop," Danny sighed as he released the seat belt before getting out of the vehicle and walking around the front to join his brother on the sidewalk. "Of all days… God, I'm sorry, kid. I wasn't thinking," he started.

"S'okay, Danny," Jamie said to him as he sought to read through his own emotions which were surprisingly different than he had expected. "It should be… I mean I thought it would be harder seeing it again, but I don't feel…" he paused and thoughtfully turned back to the front, ignorant of the freezing wind battering them at that very moment. It was in fact the first time he hadn't felt the cold since waking up in that hospital. Even back at home in his own bed with Eddie the past several nights, he'd found himself piling on the blankets in an effort to feel warm, safe and secure.

"Don't feel what… scared? Cause it's okay to feel that way after what you went through," Danny insisted as he put a hand on his brother's back and pulled him a little closer. "Hell, I'm still having nightmares about that night. I never want to see… or hear that again," he added.

"Hear what?" Jamie questioned although he had a good idea of what his brother was about to say. He remembered next to nothing of the several days following the explosion, not until he came off the heavy pain medication, but his vivid memory had locked on to most of what was said before Rick Fellows had knocked him out before the final rescue played out.

"Hear you making peace with everything," Danny admitted. "You were only worried about Eddie and Kaylin there at the… well before…" he paused uncomfortably. "They're your life now. Eddie… she didn't hesitate to go down there after you… it took everything George had to drag her away. You shouldn't have any doubts about that."

"I don't," Jamie smirked back a little sadly. "But then again I really didn't think I was coming back out," he admitted honestly as he looked down and toed the ground a little before settling his gaze back on the debris before them. He remembered at the end being most desperate that his little girl be taken care of and that Eddie was safe. This mess would be cleaned up well before all the human components of the Denison corruption scandal saw justice, but that was in someone else's hands now and no longer his concern either. "I wasn't scared anymore in there, but now that I'm standing here with you what I am terrified of is that Kaylin won't be with us. I don't think I'd be able to handle that."

"Kid, Dad told you everything would be taken care of... he promised you that night she would stay with us and he told you when he came back to the house yesterday afternoon that he has everything in hand; you just need to trust him… Have some faith in the old man now, and besides… didn't you make a promise to Eddie and a certain little girl that you would take them to the beach and build some sand castles? Keep the promises you can, Harvard. I wish I had. Things seem to get tougher as you go sometimes," he frowned, thinking of his recent troubles with Linda.

"Guess that's all I've got left, isn't it, Dan?" Jamie asked as he pulled his coat zipper higher before taking one final look at the scene and putting it behind him. "C'mon. This place doesn't hold anything for me… I thought it would, but it's just a pile of damn bricks. I'm ready to leave… let's go get that ring."

###

"Jamie Reagan!" Salvatore Gillespie called out in delight from behind the counter as the three men entered the store. "Henry! Good to see you my old friend, it's been too many years, eh? And Daniel! You're looking well! What a surprise!" the expressive little Italian man exclaimed as he made his way around the front case and approached them for vigorous handshakes and firm pats on the back. "Can you believe these are the little boys you used to bring in when you were here for your Betty… but this one here!" he said as he grabbed both of Jamie's cheeks and planted a kiss on the forehead before patting his face. "When we heard what had happened to you that night, eh? My Agnes and I… we were all sick with worry."

"Thank you, Mr. Gillespie," Jamie returned with a small somewhat embarrassed smile after he was nearly bowled over by the greeting of the passionate but tiny older European man who was a long-time family friend.

"Come on, Sal," Henry huffed as he turned his old comrade around by the arm. "You know how nervous this young pup is… he's been pacing all morning. Let's see the goods."

"Of course, come... come! I have your Eddie's ring right over here, just giving it a final polish after you called," he advised as he led them down to the end of the counter before pulling out a cloth and opening up the waiting velveteen box to reveal a beautiful halo micropavé platinum setting with Mary Margaret Reagan's cherished solitaire surrounded by a row of smaller stones from one of Grandma Betty's favorite pendants. The resulting piece was quite stunning and just what Jamie had wanted for Eddie; elegant yet eye-catching and unique… perfect.

"Oh, wow, kid," Danny muttered. "I'd even say yes if you flashed that at me," he kidded.

"I sold your father that stone," Salvatore reminisced as he buffed it once more before handing it over to Jamie to examine carefully. "My first year in business in the city… I never forget. This towering poliziotto… il mastodonte... walks into my store… almost two of me!" he insisted, waving his arms to express Frank's size and referring to his own slight frame. "And his big hands were shaking just like yours are," he said with a smile. "What these little belle donne can do to us, eh? Now I tell you, say it in the Italian way and she cannot resist… _Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te…_ I want to spend the rest of my life with you, yes?"

"I'll try to remember, Mr. Gillespie," Jamie laughed as he held the piece up to the light and handed it over for Henry to see. "Thank you… I wasn't sure about changing mom's ring but I think she would have liked this."

"Your mother would be over the moon with having Eddie in the family," Henry observed as he adjusted his glasses to study it and nod his approval before passing it to Danny who eyeballed it with a smile and returned the favor back to Jamie. There for a while he had been afraid that ring would never see its intended duty while his little brother lay trapped in that basement the night they were originally supposed to meet and pick it up. Standing here today did seem to put some closure on that.

"And Kaylin... did Jamie tell you he's adopting a little two-year-old girl, Sal?" Henry continued with pride evident as he bragged on his family. "I've got another great-granddaughter to spoil now," he said as he took his wallet out and showed off the multitude of pictures he had already stored there.

"No, no! This is wonderful news my friend!" the older man smiled as he pulled out a second box from under the counter. "Here, I show you something," he said as he opened it up to reveal a delicate sterling silver teardrop pendant on a chain with three small diamonds in the setting. "These were left from the ones I used from your Betty's piece," he said. "I make it for you… take this and save it for that little girl, eh? Keep her great-grandmother close to her, too."

"I'll pay for that since it is coming from my Betty," Henry said as he snatched the box up before Jamie could make a move. "What? She's my little sweetheart, isn't she?" he defended as the two brothers were smirking and shaking their heads. No matter how old they were, shopping with grandpa always ended the same way as he was loath to let them spend their own money if he could help it. Knowing it was useless to argue, they waited while Henry took care of his precious purchase. Jamie and Eddie had a special surprise of their own for Henry though as they had decided to give Kaylin the middle name of Elizabeth to honor Grandma Betty when everything was finalized and her name was officially changed to Reagan. "Danny and I will just have a look around while you settle up with the boy here," he said as he pulled his oldest grandson down the way with him while Jamie slipped that precious velvet box in his pocket and he and Mr. Gillespie finalized the sale privately.

"You looking?" Henry gruffed to Danny as they perused through the cases. "Seems to me you've got Christmas and Valentine's Day coming up… a nice little something for Linda in the stocking might set you two back on the right track again," he advised in his typical wise fashion. "No marriage is without its bumps… how do you think your grandmother collected all of that jewelry?" he huffed with a smile at the memories.

"Gramps, if that would work I'd have tried it a long time ago," Danny admitted with a frown. "I don't think that's what she's looking for this time. Linda, she used to understand the life… the job. Now after the shooting she's coming to hate it and I'm starting to forget what it was like before. I'm not sure what to do anymore," he whispered.

"You made vows, Daniel," Henry advised quietly as Jamie came walking towards them from the back. "For better or worse... in a lifetime they both will come. Remember that."

"All set… you two almost ready to go?" Jamie said with a relieved sigh as he approached them with probably the brightest smile he'd managed since the explosion while fingering the box in his pocket. "I can't believe I'm actually gonna do this."

"You bet, kid," Danny affirmed as he looked over at his grandfather. "Let's all go home."

###

"Reagan, I'm all set… you almost ready to go?" Eddie's voice called out from the living room. "I'm so excited! I can't believe we're really gonna do this!" she exclaimed while Jamie stood in the bedroom very early on that Monday morning following Christmas fingering that little velvet box once more before quickly shoving it in a special pocket of his carry-on luggage as he heard her footsteps approaching. "Are you alright? What are you up to in here?" she questioned.

"Just making sure I have my shoes," he smiled as he threw a few more pairs of socks in on top to cover his tracks. "After the last time I'm not letting you near those."

"Did'ja pack the scotch? 'Cause six-and-a-half hours on a plane from Laguardia to San Diego with a two-year-old is gonna be a new adventure for the both of us," she chided.

"Pretty sure that's not allowed, Janko. Four new movies all loaded on the tablet with headphones, plus a dozen more books. Hope you like Disney... _Frozen, Nemo, The Little Mermaid_ and _Cars._ "

"Cars?"

"Gotta balance out all the dainty froufrou stuff," Jamie explained. "My girl's gonna play basketball and soccer, learn how to change the oil on a big block engine and go fishing with her Grandpa... or did you miss the fact that Santa had a pole waiting for her under the Christmas tree yesterday?"

Eddie thought back to that magical morning. With everything that had happened, there had been no time or impetus to decorate the apartment with a tree during Jamie's recovery, so the three of them had stayed over at the family home after midnight mass on Christmas Eve to allow Kaylin the storybook experience of peeping down the stairs to see if Santa and his reindeer had made an appearance. The milk, cookies and carrots left for their guests in the kitchen had been consumed with mere crumbs and an empty glass left behind for show, and the little girl's eyes were wide with wonder as they walked around the corner and found piles of presents under the tree with her two grandpas drinking coffee and waiting for them in their robes with big smiles on their faces. The Reagan home had not seen a special holiday like that in a very long while since Sean and Jack had given up the belief, and Eddie couldn't remember if she had ever enjoyed one as much as this.

"You must have missed the fact that it was a pink princess pole there, pappa," Eddie joked. "I had one of those once… forget the froufrou, I used it to catch bluefish and little boys down at the shore," she offered while sliding up behind and carefully wrapping her arms around him. Jamie was now mostly healed after the accident, having even returned to limited desk duty at the precinct over the course of the last few days, but he still had some tender spots she needed to mind. Nevertheless he felt unusually tense that morning. "You're really not okay about leaving, are you?" she worried. "Your dad had to promise us like a hundred times this week that everything will be settled to get you to agree to go."

"Adams is going to file that complaint on Wednesday," Jamie sighed as he savored her soft touch. He was so torn between the angst over these court proceedings with Kaylin and his plans for Eddie in California. "And I'm taking a vacation to go away and… I can't help it, Ed. It doesn't feel right."

"Do you trust me, Reagan?" she asked as she slid to the front and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look in her eyes.

"Of course," he sighed as he reached forward and kissed her forehead. "You know that."

"We'll trust _me_ when I tell _you_ that I trust Frank Reagan if he tells _me_ not to worry and to get _you_ to the airport and on that plane with _our_ little girl so she can go play in the sand and visit her Uncle Spencer," she insisted all in one breath with a little 'I Dream of Jeannie' flip of her ponytail as he shook his head and blinked while trying to follow along with that rationale. Eddie was a master in using the art of confusion to win any argument. "Besides, I have him on speed dial now and he said he'd be over to pick you up personally if you gave me any guff over this, and I'm not sure... but I think he really kinda meant that literally."

"He did," Jamie smirked, picturing that scene as his father put him over his shoulder. "He would I mean except that his knees are a little iffy now… still he's got a lot of big guys on his detail now though..."

"So…" she pried.

"So I guess we're going to the airport to get on a plane to go visit Spencer in California," Jamie conceded just as Kaylin bolted around the corner dressed in her swimmies and sporting an oversized pair of Eddie's sunglasses. "Yay! Going to the beach today!" she shouted as she skipped down the hall. "C'mon Jammie and Eddie bear!"

"Yeah, c'mon Jammie!" Eddie teased as she grabbed his hand. "You heard the boss, it's ten degrees in New York City and we're going to the beach today!" she laughed as she pulled him out towards the living room.

"Wait!" he exclaimed as he went back to grab his carry-on bag with its most important shiny cargo stored safely away. "I need this!" he insisted as she gave him a look. "It's got my shoes!"

###

The coffee was already warm that following Wednesday when Frank Reagan made his way down into the kitchen dressed informally in normal Sunday dinner attire complete with his a favorite sweater.

"You're not going into the office today?" Henry asked in surprise as he glanced at his son. "You sick?"

"No, I just decided to have a casual day," Frank explained. "Garrett and Baker will be over later in the morning to go over some scheduling for next month so we're working out of the house today. That okay with you, Pop?"

"Hm," Henry grunted as he turned the page while Frank prepared a breakfast with some toast and oatmeal. "I bet you promised them some soup today, too. You're lucky I have everything I need to make it," he mused before pursing his lips. "Weather channel says it's supposed to be in the 80s in the San Diego area all week. Eddie said that Jamie was going to try surfing later today… she thinks he's finally up for it. Kaylin's been trying to make a snowman with sand all week," he chuckled. "Spencer took them all out sailing yesterday afternoon."

"That's good, Pop," Frank laughed as his bread popped out of the toaster. "Sounds like they're having a great time."

"Mm hmm," Henry agreed as he glanced over at the pile of folders Frank had left sitting next to his briefcase from the day before. "I read the fives you brought home yesterday. Seems like Captain Thomas out of the 2-9 SVU had a busy night on Monday with a big bust."

"You don't say," Frank mused as he poured a small glass of orange juice before coming over to join his father at the table.

"You should be more thorough, Francis," his father chided. "If you were you would have known that they managed to round up some nasty characters. Even bagged one while he was having a nice dinner with his girlfriend at Antonio's. Bunch of press caught wind of it and landed some photos of the unhappy couple."

"On 41st? Terrible red sauce there; the chef should be arrested for impersonating a real Italian."

"Right," Henry offered as he tossed a section of the paper towards his son. "Page 13. Seems like the not-so-friendly Ms. Patricia Adams from the CPS office on 9th resigned suddenly yesterday citing personal issues. Real shame… seemed like a dedicated woman."

"Well," Frank commented as he sat back and reviewed the notice while his mustache wrinkled. "That's unfortunate. Jamie might be interested to know," he said as he pulled his phone out.

"Stop… it's only four in the morning out there," the eldest Reagan reminded. "You don't want to wake them. Plenty of time to share the good news later, Grandpa."

"You're right, Pop Pop," Frank agreed using Kaylin's chosen pet name for Henry. "Might even have something to add if Bill Ashe can work a little magic this morning, he was going to try to catch the judge first thing in her chambers if he can get verification from CPS that they will not be pursuing any further action. Be nice to surprise Eddie and Jamie to give them an extra day of peace," he added with a satisfied smile as he put the paper down.

"Kept your hands awful clean this time, didn't you Francis?" Henry inquired with a snort.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Frank retorted. "That investigation's been ongoing for months… I checked out of curiosity. Started up the day after that Adams woman had her first meeting with Jamie and threatened him over Kaylin's custody."

"Interesting."

"I thought so too. Say, Pop… didn't you give Steve Thomas his first appointment over at the 2-9 years ago?"

"Now that you mention it…" Henry started before quickly getting up and going over to the pantry to pull out the ingredients to make his soup for the expected lunch guests. "What?" he demanded as he tried to deflect his son's stare. "I'm not involved… I leave all that kind of dark art up to the master now. My papers are stamped retired, remember? Excuse me, I've got to go down to the basement and see if I have enough fresh onions," he offered before scurrying off.

"Dark art… well Pop, I learned from the best," Frank offering thoughtfully as he looked down at the photo on the police blotter depicting Mr. Scumsucker being led off in handcuffs from his table at Antonio's while a familiar face was caught looking shocked in the background. "Boom," he finished as he pushed the paper away.

Several hours later, a pleased William Ashe from Ashe and Patton hand-delivered a set of signed papers to an address on Harbor View Terrace and was invited in to share a lively lunch of soup and sandwiches with the Police Commissioner of New York City and his staff. A few minutes later Eddie's phone came to life out in California with the message she had been praying to see as she was sitting on the beach with Spencer while watching Jamie doggedly attempt to surf and catch his yearly wave. " _Operation KaR final! Adams resigned. CPS not contesting. Papers in hand! 119,"_ it read. Soon a little two-year-old girl with bright blue eyes was grinning as she ran towards an exhausted man lying near the surf as fast as two little legs could go in the sand. "DADDY!" she yelled for the first time ever in her young life. "DADDY, I HERE!" she exclaimed before she was scooped up by the father who intended to love her like his own for the rest of his life.

* * *

 _So that's the story behind Ms. Adams' demise and Kaylin's adoption being finalized while Jamie and Eddie were on their little trip… was there ever any doubt with both Frank and Henry involved? I even threw in the part about picking up the ring! BONUS! Next up is Rick's Beer (I swear!) because Jamie is going to need a night out drinking before he has the courage to travel up to Rochester with Eddie and meet his future mother-in-law Eva Janko, a.k.a. mommazilla. Afterwards he will be drinking scotch, neat… trust me. :-)_


	6. Rick's Beer

Chapter 6

Rick's Beer

NYPD Sergeant Jamison Reagan paused with his hand on the polished brass rail of the door to the Hook & Ladder Pub in midtown and asked for a bit of forgiveness and courage from his blue-blooded brethren before making his way into enemy territory as he entered the confirmed smoke eater's lair in search of a particular rescue man he owed an extraordinary debt to… payable in full of course with the tab for a round or two of good black ale. Jamie ignored the raised eyebrows and smirks from a number of patrons who recognized the son of the city's top cop as he made his way towards the solitary figure sitting down at the far side of the bar.

"Two more," Jamie nodded to the bartender while he pulled up to the stool next to Rick Fellows and took a seat as a couple of thick foaming glasses were deposited in front of them.

"Took you a while to show up," Rick smirked as he tossed another empty peanut hull on the small pile that was accumulating in front of him and glanced to the side. "Wasn't sure you had the guts to cross the red line and walk in here although I'll admit you look a bit better than the last time I saw you," he observed with a hard squint in the dark lighting of the bar. "Is that a tan, Reagan?! Where the hell did you get that?"

"San Diego," Jamie admitted as he pulled a basket of pretzels over from the side.

"Ah," the older man chuckled as he took a sip of the fresh foam. "That's right… there was a lot of talk about going to the beach that night as I recall. Good for you, bud," he smiled as he pushed his sleeves up revealing a number of tattoos while glancing over to catch the scores running across the muted flat screen in the corner. "I gotta tell you though, I didn't figure you'd be making that trip when we were down in that hole… you were one lucky bastard that night. Can't say I've seen much like that in all my years of doing this, and that's sayin' something," Rick revealed. "First off, everything fell around you just so like a damn bunch of Jenga blocks and then with the cold… usually once you get a vic going down that fast and talking about putting things in order like that, well… you know."

"Yeah, I do," Jamie agreed as he sipped his beer while thinking back to a few of the tough calls he'd had over the years, the hardest being those last few minutes with Vinny in that courtyard. "I don't know how to say it, man. Just wanted to thank you for not giving up on me in there," he said with a tight throat as they both relived some of the emotions from that night. "Somehow that doesn't seem like enough, but it's all I got. Thank you… from me, my family, Eddie and that little girl we have now. You don't know how much it means to all of us."

Rick nodded as he kept his head down and shelled another peanut. "Best part of the job, Reagan, is when I get someone like you out… makes up for some of the others. I really hate to lose. Where I come from we don't leave anyone behind."

A few more quiet moments passed while they contemplated that before Jamie brightened suddenly with a grin. "Hey, I did it last week though… we got Kaylin's adoption finalized, and I asked Eddie to marry me when we were out in California."

"No kidding, a real family man now! Good for you!" Rick exclaimed with a smile as he reached over and smacked Jamie's shoulder. "Well anyway, I take it she said yes," he continued thinking about the hell that woman had gone through for him just a few weeks earlier. "Eddie… she's a real spitfire… she'll keep you in line. I don't mind telling you now that I wouldn't have got you out in time if it hadn't been for her and your rookie, George. Helluva good kid that one. Heard your dad has him under his wing now... s'good move for him. He came through for you, but wasn't gonna have it left in him for the street anymore. Seen newbs like him flame out after something like that when they had the chance to think about it," he admitted as he groaned a little and stretched his back out before hunching over his drink a little once again. "Getting too goddamn old for this weather," he moaned. "Maybe I should look at heading south a little."

"George is where he belongs now, for sure," Jamie agreed. "Couldn't have brought that whole crew down without him though," he mused. The pair were silent again for a minute before Jamie piped up once more. "So why is it you're still the first one down the rope, Rick?" Jamie asked as he knew his friend had already put in a twenty-year stint as a Navy Corpsman combat medic attached to the Marines to pull a full pension before returning to the city and joining the FDNY several years earlier. He had quickly become known as one of the best rescue men in the business and was definitely the first one you wanted to see coming down after you if it was your ass on the line. It was a hard way to draw a paycheck though as evident from the multitude of scars crisscrossing his arms and the aches that multiplied throughout his body whenever the weather turned cold and damp like this. "Hit us again," Jamie motioned to the bartender as he pushed his empty glass forward.

"You off all your meds, Reagan?" Rick chided as he took a few heavy swallows to catch up and do the same. "This ale has a kick like a mule after a while."

"I'm good," Jamie confirmed. "Got myself back on desk duty as of now. Should be out on the street in another few days or so."

"That's why," Rick answered obscurely.

"Why what?"

"Why I'm still the first one down the rope," Rick answered. "You asked me the question, but I wonder the same about you, _Harvard,_ " the former Marine emphasized. "By all rights you shouldn't have come out from under that rubble, but here you are pushing yourself to get back out there, and why do I have the feeling you'd be the first one to dive in again if you had the chance? Why'd you jump off that bridge to save a kid that wasn't yours? It's the same for both of us, the job… hell, it's in the blood."

Jamie nodded as he considered that point. "You're right, it's all I've ever seen myself doing. I tried law to please some other people, but it would have left me miserable. I always wanted to be just like my grandpa and father… to do the work that they did and have the stories they had to tell."

"I followed my old man and upped in the Corps when I was just eighteen," Rick revealed. "Spent the better part of the next twenty years on active duty in every hellhole you could imagine pulling out kids younger than me… having too many to count die in my arms. I came home for good after that last tour in Afghanistan in twenty-ten because I made a promise to my wife," he said as he subconsciously turned the imaginary ring on his finger. "Married her at the courthouse the week before my first trip overseas when she got knocked up… got a little girl of my own that's almost 26 now and ready to have her own baby," he laughed. "I'm gonna be a grandpa next month when I'm 45 and you've got a two-year-old… isn't that funny, huh? Stayed married to Ellen through all that hell and we ended up separated less than six months after I came home for good because I was a basket case sitting around the house with nothing to do. Decided to join the FDNY and got divorced the next year. Guess we were always better at the long-distance stuff. Get along just fine now that they're both down in Houston and only see me a few times a year just like before."

"I never knew that about you," Jamie muttered before offering a little smirk. "Grandpa, huh?" he shook his head. "Whew, no way. Kaylin's not dating until she's at least 30. I wanna be old before I see that; besides there's too many men packing in my family for any guy to think otherwise."

"Yeah, sure… that's what I said about Sarah, and it usually takes a hit of something harder than this ale to get me to admit that didn't work, Reagan."

"So what will you do then," Jamie asked as he was now halfway done with his second glass and starting to feel a warm buzz. "You know, when it's time to put away the rope… to keep from being a basket case. I don't ever see you sitting at a desk."

"Me? Nah, that would kill me for sure," Rick admitted. "It'll be hard not to be the one on the front line, and I really wish I could find some way to keep saving kids like you. That day's coming up sooner than I'd like according to my doc though. I won't pass the yearly physical soon… only so many patches you can put on things and I've worn out some of my parts already. I took classes to get certified as a counselor at a local veterans center where I volunteer and for a paycheck I'll probably end up at the academy as an instructor, I guess… passing on some of the things in my bag of tricks like that gastric lavage we tried… bought you a couple of minutes anyway. Might have made the difference."

"Yeah, and I meant to _not_ thank you for that," Jamie smirked. "God, that was awful, would've taken a swing at you if I could have."

"I know that," Rick continued with a small smile at Jamie's revelation. "That's why part of the trick was to pin you down first. Combat field medics learn to use whatever it takes to get it done right and fast. Can't be sweet-talking a likely with bullets flying over your head."

"So that's why you're so good under pressure," Jamie surmised. "You needed a whole different skill set to deal with what you had to over there and that's what makes you one of the best at your job here. My brother, Danny, he spent some time overseas in the Corps in Fallujah and he never talks about it except to tell me I have no idea what it's like to do that. He tends to do things his own way too."

"Most guys who saw combat don't open up about what they saw, in my experience," Rick offered a familiar answer as Jamie recalled having the same conversation with Renzulli once after a decorated Marine was found beaten to death in an alley and his brother tore himself up after catching the case. His reply was the same.

"My grandfather made it back from Korea, my dad from Vietnam and Danny from Iraq. My junior year, I went to Europe. I think it was the first time a man in my family left America without a rifle in his hands," Jamie revealed once more. "Mom had me on the fast-track through law school. She never wanted me to be a cop either so there was for sure never talk of me going into the military."

"Heh, that must really have rankled your brother."

"Yeah, he says I make the family proud… the bleeding heart, pay it forward, peace, love and happiness side of the family... they're real proud of me, and that his side makes my side possible."

"He's got a point; I mean that's kinda the whole reason behind having a strong volunteer military force in the first place," Rick offered as he took another sip. It seemed odd to be discussing politics with the kid, but in all honesty it was kind of nice to talk to someone who was struggling to see both sides without the usual preconceptions.

"I know and Danny's probably right about that… we see things differently, and I don't pretend to understand what went on with him overseas. I might risk my life on the streets here, but I go home to a family that has Sunday dinner every week; it's not like I'm alone in a country where most of the people would rather I be dead, although sometimes that's not so cut and dried here either given the climate lately," Jamie added sadly. "Sometimes as cops we show up on a scene and I have to wonder if we're the good guys or the bad guys. At least people are usually happy to see your truck roll in, especially if their house is burning down, or say a building fell on top of them."

"That's a bit like it is overseas too," Rick acknowledged. "You've got people that need you and others that would rather pop you off without a second thought. The hardest part is telling them apart, and you can't go by the color of the flag they're waving."

"Yeah, that came up for discussion a few months ago too when that group made the scene in Veterans Plaza and burned the flag," Jamie added. "Dad hated it, but had to do his job; Danny was dead set against it no matter what, but the lawyer side of me recognizes the fact that in this country they're entitled to their point of view… it's protected under the First Amendment even though it turns my stomach the same as every other man in our family. My brother called me the golden child who never even wore a uniform, and I told him that I wear one now, and no one respects what the flag stands for more than I do."

Rick laughed. "And how did that go over with Danny boy?"

"He told me to hop on an airplane, go to some god-forsaken hellhole, and watch all my buddies get blown away, then talk to him about what the flag stands for."

"Not much different from what you saw when that partner of yours took one in the throat in that courtyard at Bitterman is it?" Rick asked bluntly. "Just sayin'," he frowned. "Dead is dead, be it for the flag or a badge… it's still hard on everyone... although yeah, I guess it is different for a soldier and sometimes it takes one to know one. A lot of times coming home to the good old US of A where the flag is flying high every day is the worst thing that happens to some of these kids and we lose more of them over here than we do in combat... like that boy that took a header off the George Washington yesterday. Just twenty-three years old, decided not to re-up when his first stint was done and got lost back here. The cops on scene first had him talking for a bit, but then he clammed up and I didn't have enough time to get to him… if I have a few minutes I can usually turn them around, but he's just one more I couldn't do anything for… God, I just hate to lose them like that!" he said as his voice raised and he slammed his fist down on the bar hard enough to make the glasses rattle, garnering a few knowing glances from some of the other patrons in the bar. "It's okay," he assured as Jamie raised an eyebrow and looked around, certain he'd find himself challenged by Rick's whole crew if they thought the visiting cop had somehow disrespected him. "They're all used to me going off whenever we fail a kid like that."

"Would it have made a difference," Jamie asked as he settled back down and waved for round three, "if those officers would have known how to approach him as a soldier instead of just another EDP on a bridge?"

"Yeah, it might have," Rick agreed. "You sure about this, Reagan?" he asked as the next pair of dripping glasses arrived. "You're getting awfully cozy here with us smoke eaters. Don't want to corrupt that precious blue blood of yours any more than it is, what with you being the hippie child of the PC and all… can't have you come all the way over to the dark side. You're not drivin' tonight, right? Cause I just live up the block..."

"Cab," Jamie confirmed with a small laugh, "and I gotta stop after this one, or otherwise Eddie will put me back under those bricks herself. We're driving up to Rochester tomorrow for a couple of days so I can meet her mother and tell her about the engagement," he blew a deep breath out. "Didn't get a chance to do that before I proposed because of everything that went down with being laid up in the hospital and Kaylin's adoption. I'm not exactly sure how it will go over with Mrs. Janko… so I probably need a few more of these in me before that sounds like a good idea."

"Man, if she's anything like my ex-mother-in-law, you're better off walking straight into a machine gun nest," Rick muttered before continuing. "For that kid on the bridge though… yeah, if the guys that got to him first knew how to approach him, it could have made all the difference. A lot of time they're just looking for someone to understand where they're at and listen to them."

Something clicked in Jamie's brain with that and now he was certain he knew the right way to repay Rick for what he had done, as well as pay it forward as he could for the rest of the people he was indebted to for serving in the military. So many of the emotionally disturbed people… the EDPs as they were called on the job… that cops encountered regularly as first responders had military backgrounds. If more was done to prepare the officers properly, potentially hundreds of lives could be saved and families spared the agony of living with that reality.

"Hey Rick, just how far would you be willing to go to help out some more of these guys?" Jamie started. "Would you be up for coming over to the blue side a bit… maybe even show up at 1PP for some meetings?" he asked with a little hesitation given the ongoing deep-heated rivalry between the police and fire departments; there were very few instances where the two were aligned and willing to work together on a common goal.

"What are you getting at Reagan?" Rick asked suspiciously.

"I lost one like that too a few months ago," Jamie explained. "A young girl… Jenny Strong. I really wanted to help her. She had issues and her dad was trying to deal with them but he couldn't do it alone and she ended up hanging herself before I could get her into a program. I was hamstrung at every turn… from the city agencies to our own lack of training inside the police department for dealing with EDPs. My dad and I talked afterwards… I wanted to see if we could develop a better approach to the way things are done and he agreed. Has me putting together an advisory committee to study how the NYPD can improve the way we deal with the mentally ill… all the way from the initial contact through how they are processed in the system."

"Comprised of who?" the rescue man asked with a sudden spark of interest as he had always seen the potential for something in this area, but never a way through the sea of red tape to get it done… and yet here was this Reagan kid sitting next to him now with the same thoughts, connected to the right brass up to the hilt and easy to work with.

"The best people I can field," Jamie answered. "John Jay, Payne Whitney, Health and Human Services, and also from the front lines here… both lines," he emphasized. "Blue and red if I can get them to work together."

"You asking me?"

"God, YES!" Jamie replied enthusiastically as he turned to face him. "I've got no one from our department with your military experience who knows what those guys need right when they're in crisis like that. Like you said, sometimes it takes one to know one and the right approach can make all the difference. I know we can't save them all, but I hate to…"

"...lose any of them," Rick finished for him as he pursed his lips and nodded, thinking how the outcome might have been very different for the young man that slipped away yesterday. "Yeah… I mean _HELL YEAH!"_ he exclaimed as the same eyeballs popped up to look at him from the other tables. It wasn't often their dedicated but somewhat lone wolf-type of colleague got wound up in their company like that anymore, and never before when sitting with someone perceived as a privileged cop. "I knew there had to be a reason I saved your sorry ass twice, Reagan!" he said as he smacked his hand down on the table again. "You hear that boys?" he called out to his fellow firefighters. "I just got myself invited down to 1PP!"

"So you're in?" Jamie nodded with a sideways grin for the sprinkling of cheers, jeers and applause at that announcement. "We're starting up next week. I'll get you on the contact list so you have the details."

"Yeah, I'm in even if I've gotta suck it up and walk into that big blue house of your daddy's. You tell me when and where and I'll buy the beers after," he added. "Just do me a favor and don't make it a cop bar… got it flatfoot?" he huffed with a smile as a parting jab just to leave no doubt that the red versus blue rivalry was still intact.

"You bet, hose jockey," Jamie smirked as he settled up the bill and turned to leave. "Hey, I'm done for tonight… need my beauty sleep so I make a good impression on momma Janko tomorrow. I'll see you later, Rick."

"Hey, Reagan," Rick called after him. "I don't want to have to come pull you out of any more tight spots. Just remember to keep your head down when you meet the mother-in-law, okay? I'd hate to lose you now," he grinned.

"Yeah, I'll try to keep that in mind," Jamie laughed. "Thanks again, bud."

"No, thank you," Rick muttered to himself with a heavy sigh as he heard the bell ring and the door close behind him. "And all those boys will thank you too for giving a damn about them, Sergeant 'pay it forward, peace, love and happiness' Reagan. Your side makes our side possible too sometimes. _Oorah._ "

* * *

 _Okay, that was a bit different, but I was trying to bring together some of the ideas that were on the show so far this season and string them along a little since I liked the idea of Jamie moving forward with a project such as the advisory committee and was hoping it would have come up as a recurring point and not just a one off like the time he got to play detective for Frank (successfully I might add). My former Marine buddy Rick seemed to be the perfect tie-in with that EDP storyline, the cops vs. firefighters and the flag burning episodes since I thought that could have been explored further as well, especially with Danny's outburst. Off my soapbox now, and next we are on to a pure werks-world snapshot entitled "Mommazilla" as Eva Janko enters the picture for series two. 'nuff said. :-)_

 _Oh and thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers for that little girl. Did not get an update yesterday, later tonight for sure._


	7. Mommazilla (Part I)

Chapter 7

Mommazilla (Part I)

 _This one will be a two-shot as I could not contain it to a single chapter since just getting to Rochester to meet Eddie's mom was a process for poor Jamie who starts learning the hard way that being a dad and a soon-to-be husband is sometimes harder than it looks and you can't always plan for everything. Enter Eva Janko._

* * *

 _Saturday, January 6, 4:05 am  
387 Grand Street, NYC_

"Six-and-a-half hours in a car, and that's without stops, Reagan!" Edit Janko continued her tirade as she made her way out of the front doors to Jamie's apartment building just after four in the morning on Saturday, loaded down with luggage, toys, snacks, a drink cooler and pillows while he followed behind her with much of the same in addition to a sleeping Kaylin on his shoulder wrapped in a blanket and already dressed in her clothes for the day, having been sent to bed wearing them the night before in a genius move to save time without waking her. "May I remind you that we both work first shift on Monday, so that means we have to drive home another six plus hours tomorrow night! Thirteen! Thirteen hours in the car in less than two days! That's… that's like…" she stuttered as she tried to do the percentage calculations in her head before giving up. "That's a crap load of time driving when a flight to Rochester only takes just over an hour! We made it across the whole country to San Diego faster!"

"Shush, Janko!" Jamie hissed quietly as they approached his car while the little girl stirred in his arms. "This only works if she stays _sleeping_ for the first half of the ride! Get it? Didn't you ever take road trips when you were a kid? You think this is bad? Try being sandwiched between Danny and Erin in a station wagon for three days in a row to be used as a human shield when mom and dad got it in their heads to visit the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral down in Florida one summer. Joe laughed his ass off at me the whole time in the seat behind us because he didn't draw the short straw! You were such a sheltered child, Edit," he tsked. "We just flew back from California on Monday and I didn't feel like spending hours at the airports waiting in security to save one or two, plus then we had to rent a car and drive over anyway. Think of this as an adventure. Trust me, one kid in the backseat for this long is not gonna kill us, especially if she stays _sleeping,_ " he reemphasized as he quietly unlocked the Mustang and carefully put Kaylin in her place as he tucked the blanket around her while Eddie loaded up the trunk with what she could fit and shoved the rest in the back next to the little girl.

"I've got the whole trip mapped out," he continued. "We'll be at your mom's place by noon easy even with a few layovers. You said she had a meeting at the office until late morning anyway. Once we make it through Binghamton, Kaylin will be ready to wake up and we can find someplace to get waffles for breakfast, and then take the scenic route through the Finger Lakes region and past Skaneateles. If we're making good time we can stop at the Museum at the Creamery houses there and see the handmade wooden boats… Kaylin would love those."

"Wooden boats for a two-year-old little girl; don't you mean _you_ would love to see them? Give me a break, Reagan," Eddie sighed as she slid into the passenger side and stole a glance at him… he was practically glowing with anticipation. "Oh my God. You are so totally into this, aren't you? It must be a man thing; I can completely see your dad in you right now! Pretty soon you'll be borrowing one of his sweaters and packing us off to Cape Canaveral," she chided as she settled herself into the front bucket which had to be pushed far forward in the two-door car to accommodate Kaylin's bulky car seat fastened directly behind her. "First you need to trade in your hot rod here for a minivan. Kids need to be restrained in those seats practically until they get their college acceptance letters nowadays. We've got like zero space in here… I need more room to stretch out and what happens if we have another? There's no place to put one!"

"No minivan, not ever in my lifetime… and guys just like to drive," he mused happily as he caressed the steering wheel while he turned the key and the heavy engine of the Mustang rumbled to life before he pulled off down the quiet sleepy street, headed up 17th towards Broadway in the direction of the Holland Tunnel. "You can trade in your car. I used to enjoy the trek back and forth from Boston all the time. You know, Janko, we've pulled twelve-hour shifts in the RMP going around in circles and you weren't complaining like this. What gives?"

"It's just… nerves," Eddie admitted with a defeated sigh. "I mean I haven't been up to see my mom in Rochester in a long time… almost a year. I told you, we could have just let her know about the engagement from California over Skype or Facetime or something like that…" she trailed off and looked out the window at the dark sidewalks passing by to mask the worry on her face. "It would have been easier, trust me…"

"Edit Katalin Janko soon-to-be Reagan, for the last time... I am not announcing to your mother that I asked you to marry me over the phone, okay!" Jamie insisted with a huff. "It's bad enough that I haven't even met her yet… I fully intended to go up there by myself and speak to her before our trip until… well until that damn building fell down on me. Besides, don't you think that she wants to meet Kaylin too? C'mon Eddie, I know you've said your mom can be a little tough, but name one person sweetness can't melt in a minute, and then there's me," he laughed and reached over and tapped her shoulder as the streetlights flashed by. "Top man at Harvard, well-spoken, upstanding family... devastating good looks…" he grinned when the latter garnered a snicker at least. "I'm a catch. Mother's always love me... you've got nothing to worry about. I'll just turn on the good old Reagan charm and we'll be golden."

"And after all that, you're still a cop… grandson of a cop, son of a cop, brother of a cop… don't forget that… mom won't. You so don't know what you are getting yourself into," she sighed before pouting and shaking her head.

"Can we add soon to be husband of a cop?" he piped in hopefully but that comment was deliberately ignored.

"And by the way… you told your whole family about us from California over Facetime," Eddie defended with a self-righteous sniff.

"They all knew what I was planning to do out there!" Jamie exclaimed, albeit softly as he continued to be mindful of the desired state of the sleeping toddler in the back. "Spencer had a live feed going… everyone watched online for God's sake! It's a good thing you said yes or I would have never lived it down! I have the video… maybe you can show that to your mom. There were candles and fireworks... that should score some points!"

"Yeah, I bet she'd love the way you started that proposal… _Edit Katalin Janko, you're a real pain,"_ she cited from memory. " _I mean you're always trying to tell me what to do. You eat too much, you're opinionated, you never listen and you're constantly making plans for me without consulting me…"_ Eddie sniped. "Still want me to hit the play button on that, huh?"

"Hey!" Jamie laughed as he glanced over at her with a big smile as he conceded maybe that could be taken the wrong way by a momma bear. "Okay, well maybe that would be pushing it, but c'mon, lambchop. I finished with the good part. I also said you were the most beautiful woman I have ever known. That I adore you in every way possible, and that you are my best friend… my partner, and how I am utterly, madly, and completely in love with you… that's good stuff, Janko."

"She'll kick you out of the house before we get to that point."

"And if she does, will you still marry me?"

"Maybe it's a good thing you asked me that before you met my mother," Eddie insisted, unwilling to give it a rest. "Just drive, Reagan… drive."

###

 _6:45 am_

 _Route I-380 N, Outside of Scranton, PA_

"S'cuse me Daddy…"

"Yes, sweetness?" came the strained heavy sigh as Jamie's well-oiled and intricately timed itinerary was set to take another hit. The bliss of having a sleeping toddler in the back had evaporated more than an hour before as a pair of light blue eyes had flipped open to reveal a somewhat grumpy and now apparently nauseous little girl.

"M'm tummy hurts."

"Again? Baby, we just got back on the road. We're already more than twenty-five minutes off track. Can you try to make it a little further? What if Eddie gets the tablet out and we watch a movie, huh? What about Nemo?"

"Me like oh laugh better."

"Oh laugh? She's talking about that snowman, right? The one in _Frozen_. Help me out here, Janko!" Jamie hissed as he checked his rear-view mirror just as an eighteen-wheeler tailgated before flashing by on the left, the passing turbulence shaking the car. "Okay, he's doing like eighty-five, easy," he muttered under his breath. "Why don't you just run us over instead of bothering to change lanes next time, buddy?! Why isn't there a cop around when you need one?"

"Yes, of course, Reagan, Olaf. Duh. We've only watched that movie like twenty times in the past couple of weeks. Where'd you pack it?"

"It was on the charger in the kitchen. You said you were going to grab it."

"Oops."

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"You know most minivans have those entertainment centers built in now, don't you?"

"Daddy, my tummy _really_ hurts!"

"Kiss those wooden boats goodbye, lambchop."

###

8:50 am

 _Route I-80 N, Just before Cortland, NY_

"Jamison Reagan, I am _officially_ starving now!" Eddie griped. "You promised me waffles once we passed Binghamton, and that was like forever ago! We've been in the car for almost five hours! I'm gonna faint if I don't get something to eat soon!"

"She's finally sleeping again," Jamie sighed as he glanced in the rear-view mirror back at his daughter, now on her third and last available change of clothes after two rounds of motion sickness had claimed her pretty turquoise jumper and almost everything else that went with it except the shoes that were salvaged with a bit of cleanup from the paper towels and windshield cleaning fluid at the gas pumps of the last station they stopped at. "We're more than an hour behind schedule, Janko! The only way to make it there on time is to drive straight through with just one more stop to eat. Can't you suck it up for a little while more? Look… I'm just about to get off the main highway and take 41 up past Lake Skaneateles and Syracuse. We'll stop at a diner in the town up there, I promise, okay? Just grab a snack to hold you over. I swear to God you will not die of starvation before I get you to your mother's house!"

"We _had_ a snack cooler packed, until you were late finding an exit that last time and baby girl tried to use it as a barf bag. I tossed it at the gas station. You know, you should really get some of those emesis plastic thingies from Linda at the hospital and keep a few of those in the back there if we're going to make a habit out of this," she chattered on. "Oh LOOK!" she exclaimed at the passing billboard as Jamie flipped his turn signal on to take the following exit. "They have Amish furniture outlets and wine tasting tours up here every weekend! Now that sounds like a plan! Maybe I can get Hailey to set that up for my bachelorette party!" she enthused rather tongue in cheek as she glanced over at Jamie's crestfallen face while his first much anticipated carefully crafted-by-dad family car trip circled the drain. Still, she could not help herself and hit him with one more barb.

"Are we almost there yet?"

###

 _9:55 am_

 _Route 20 W, Auburn, NY, Millie's Family Diner_

"Well sweetheart, aren't you just about the prettiest little thing there ever was?" the older waitress bussing the tables at the quiet roadside diner near Auburn, NY with a nameplate of "Doris" offered to Kaylin as the three weary travelers waited in a booth for their breakfast orders after Jamie decided a break was finally necessary despite the multiple delays they had already encountered. "And so colorful this early in the morning too!" she chattered happily observing the little girl's mismatched array of available clothing that now consisted of a striped green and blue jumper, pink leggings and opposing purple and light blue socks. Beggars apparently could not be choosers given the circumstances, and Eddie smirked at the strain evident on Jamie's face as he tried hard to ignore the fact that the socks didn't match even though the whole ensemble practically screamed in technicolor at his OCD tendencies.

"Such an angel," the friendly woman continued as she wiped the table down. "Sitting here being a good girl for your Daddy and Mommy," she tutted.

"Daddy and _Eddie_ bear," Kaylin corrected with a bit of grumpy emphasis. " _Not my Mommy!"_ she fretted and frowned as the whole ordeal over the past summer with the death of her mother Jayne was touched off again as it was still fresh in her eidetic memory and Jamie and Eddie both felt the best approach was just to give her some space and talk to her about it gently until she came to an understanding in her own time, even though it was beginning to tug at Eddie's heart since the leap to the word daddy had already been made. While studying the little girl's reaction, it occurred to Jamie that perhaps part of the issue and anxiety in the car this morning was a carryover from the way she had been treated right before her mother's demise and the terror that ensued during the accident at the bridge, and he cursed himself inwardly for not taking into account how Kaylin would feel about another long road trip. Despite that, he was not one to allow his daughter to be impolite, especially in public.

"Kaylin, sweetie, that wasn't your nice voice," he chided gently. "What do you say?"

"Sorry, ma'am," came the little down-turned reply.

"Oh, no darlin' I'm the one that's sorry… didn't mean to pry or upset her. I just saw the ring and all…"

Jamie just smiled and waved her on weakly. "It's no problem," he explained. "She just um, well lost her mother last year and doesn't quite understand yet. Would you mind refilling my coffee, please?" he asked in order to give the embarrassed woman a gracious exit while their food arrived from the kitchen and Eddie and Kaylin were soon digging into their plates of waffles while Jamie settled for a couple of pieces of dry toast as he marveled at the apparent iron will for food his two counterparts possessed.

"Well that wasn't awkward at all," Eddie offered, pausing for a moment as it occurred to her that her mother might have a different reaction to the little girl's outburst.

"S'okay," Jamie smirked a little. "At least she's acknowledging one of us as a parent figure now so the next call doesn't go out to the state police to report a kidnapping in progress. Although maybe we could get a ride in a cleaner car."

"Reagan, how many times have we had a perp toss their cookies in the back of the RMP. You should be immune to that by now… I am."

"Not the same… and not in _my_ car," he moaned as he rested his head on his hand and stared at his unappetizing bread while he considered exactly how he was going to rid it of the sour stench now entrenched in the carpet during the middle of winter without taking a pressure washer to the whole interior.

"So I'm thinking we need to get our stories straight on some things before you meet Mom," Eddie started as she polished off another big bite of the golden brown batter cake and paused to wipe the maple syrup and fresh whipped cream off her face with a napkin.

"Stories? Like what?" he asked as he glanced up and shook his head as he watched her dive into another stack. "Janko, we were partners for more than two years and you talk incessantly in the car. Pretty sure I know just about your whole life history including your first kiss with that Kevin guy behind the bleachers when you were in eighth grade."

"It was _Evan_ Peters, and no, not those things… _our_ things," she explained. "Trust me, if Mom senses an opening she'll go for it and try to divide us. We can't be weak and get split up over an issue. Like, for instance, how many more kids are we planning for?"

"After this morning? That's easy. _None,_ " he affirmed as he sat back and gave her a puzzled glance. "What? Is she like a cheetah eyeing up the slowest wildebeest? We just got engaged last weekend! She's your mom, Ed. She's just gonna be happy to see you and meet us, right? You _did_ tell her about me and Kaylin, didn't you?" he asked suddenly suspicious that despite all her previous chatter maybe he was walking into more than he had bargained for anyway.

"Well, yes of course I told her we were dating and about you adopting Kaylin. I just didn't know you were going to make the big move so soon with the ring and all, so I didn't really prepare her for that. What about where we're going to live? That's a biggie since Mom manages a real estate office branch and she's totally into that. I mean my lease is up in May, and yours in June… now there's three of us. What am I gonna do with all my stuff?"

"Janko, we had more than five hours sitting in the car doing nothing today except dodging 'tossed cookies' as you put it, and you didn't think to bring this up then? We could have had our whole life plan ironed out in contract form and notarized for her by now."

"I know, but it's just... I've never introduced anyone to her as my fiancé before… the others, well the others never had to come back if they didn't want to and… and you have a kid!" Eddie stated in a full blown panic mode as these little realizations were just starting to hit her now that she was being forced to face them after a week of post-engagement bliss. "My mom, she just says things without thinking sometimes… and Kaylin remembers _everything_ just like with the waitress," she whispered while covering her mouth. "What if any of that comes back out at a Sunday dinner with your family? She's not a big fan of law enforcement after what we went through with my dad and him being in prison and all. She hates that I'm a cop too. This could be a disaster!"

"Well that's easy to fix then," Jamie said with a smirk as he softly grabbed her left wrist across the table. "I'll just take the ring back and go home," he challenged in an effort to get her to pause for a moment and take a breath. At least that part of his plan had the desired effect as she stopped to snatch her hand away.

"Don't even joke about that," she cried as she paused to straighten and admire it. Eddie had been instantly smitten with the engagement setting the second it was slipped on her finger, and the knowledge that the center diamond had come from Jamie's own mother's ring and the rest from Grandma Betty made her cherish it even more. It was perfect for her, as he had hoped, and she never intended to take it off unless she had to. "Just be prepared to face off in the box when it comes to the wedding. Mom is not going to appreciate it if she's the last one to know."

"Then we just need to go get this over with and see her," Jamie advised as the check came and he reached into his wallet to pull out a tip before taking it up to the register. "You can't have it both ways. We have months to worry about where we're gonna live and if she asks about the wedding date and stuff just say we haven't had a chance to look into it yet, we have some venues in mind and the plan is to figure that out in the next few weeks or so. If she gets into the cop thing, I'm a big boy and I'll deal with it… it won't be anything our family hasn't heard before, believe me. At least your dad kinda liked me. This whole for better or worse stuff starts now, I guess," he offered as he got up to pay the bill.

"You could say that, right munchkin?" Eddie added softly while she gathered Kaylin up in her arms and followed behind him.

###

11:58 am

 _220 Queen Avenue, Rochester, NY_

By the time the three finally entered Rochester, Jamie was already reconsidering that whole for better or worse adage and wondering if Demosthenes had it right instead way back in 338 B.C. with "He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day," a point he might very well have to take up with his father at an upcoming Sunday dinner.

For her part, Kaylin was now dressed only in the garish red and white striped footie jammies that Auntie Erin had bought for her for Christmas as the waffles from the diner had made a reappearance and taken with them virtually every other stitch of clothing they had brought for the little girl to wear. One more incident and she would have been buck naked when they arrived on the 200 block of Queen Avenue in Rochester as Jamie pulled up to the curb in front of the tastefully appointed two-story Victorian and shut the engine off before laying his head down on the steering wheel in defeat.

"We're here," he muttered in a near whimper. "I told you… we'd make it right on time, thank you Jesus."

"Hmm, I don't see Mom's car yet," Eddie offered as she purposefully ignored his angst. "Let me call her. Maybe she's been delayed at her meeting and we can go in the house and throw some of Kaylin's clothing in the wash quick before she gets back and meets her future granddaughter while she's dressed up like a candy-cane."

"It will never smell the same in here again… ever," he moaned as his hand came up to rest lovingly on the dash of his cherished Mustang. "I'm so sorry, girl…" he trailed off.

"Why do men always address their cars as females and then never let us drive them?" Eddie puzzled as she held the phone up to her ear and waited for the call to go through. "I mean it's kinda demeaning," she continued before pulling the device down and disconnecting. "Oh, crap... here she comes," she warned as the sleek silver Mercedes sedan turned the corner and pulled up in the driveway behind them. "Now Jamie, try to remember what I told you and don't get upset if things don't go the way you think they will…" she advised as he stared at her in disbelief that she had the gall to say that to him after the drive from hell that had just concluded. "Let's just go," she added.

"After you, Janko," he replied as he gathered himself with every bit of resolve left and got out of the seat, pausing only to unbuckle his loudly dressed child and hoist her to his shoulder wrapped up in his own coat against the cold upstate New York January air before walking over to greet Eva Janko, a classic-looking business woman with short blond hair who had just stepped out of her car fashionably attired in a crisp suit and three-inch heels. The same vibrant blue eyes that her daughter possessed immediately locked on and looked him up and down.

"Mom," Eddie said as she took her hand and led her over. "This is Jamie and his daughter Kaylin that I've been telling you about, and look!" she gushed as she held her left hand up and showed off the beautiful ring, unable to contain her excitement. "We've got some news!"

"I see that, Edit," Eva smiled with a slight bit of frost as she stepped forward and offered to shake Jamie's hand. "It's so good _finally_ to meet you, Jamison Reagan and Kaylin is it? What an interesting name. It appears that we will have a lot to talk about this weekend, won't we? Why don't we get in out of the weather... that poor child looks cold, I hope you've brought her more appropriate clothes for dinner tonight... Shall we go inside?"

"Ah, yes ma'am," he added with a slight hitch rolling through his stomach even as he offered his most charming Reagan smile in return. Jamie could sense things were not immediately golden, and he wasn't used to being set on the back foot so quickly while meeting a girlfriend's mother, even with Sydney... and Mrs. Davenport had been a real piece of work all on her own but she hadn't turned on him until hearing about the "bait and switch" as she called it when he flipped from law to the police academy. Eva was like ice from the get go. Suddenly he felt like a little schoolboy talking to a nun about to wield a big wooden ruler across his knuckles, and that was… well honestly more Danny's domain. Undeterred, he was filled with his Irish pride and a determination to not go down without an attempt to fight the good fight. "I'm so glad we were able to make it here today, Mrs. Janko. You have a lovely home," he added as Eddie's lips pursed and her eyes rolled up to the sky from behind her mother.

 _Let the games begin,_ she thought as she followed them into the house.

* * *

 _So has Eva Janko met her match in one Jamison Reagan, or is she truly gifted in her own dark arts and just stringing him along for now? How will the rest of the weekend turn out?_

 _Also, a good update, thanks for all the well-wishes. The little girl that serves as Kaylin's real-life inspiration is stable for now and improving daily since the surgery although it looks like she'll need to stay at least two more weeks in the children's hospital. Please continue to keep her and the family in your thoughts. The community here is really pulling together for them._

 _Finally (I'm chatty today) the fact that everyone responded so well to Rick in his snapshot has inspired his return, not so much in the followup story to "Water," but in the third and final piece in this series called "Resurgence" that will mirror "Resurrection," so thanks for the inspiration because I was stumped on how to pull that one off!_


	8. Mommazilla (Part II)

Chapter 8

Mommazilla (Part II)

 _I think everyone will find that Eva Janko is more of a dark force instead of just an artist as she is able to take her craft to an entirely new level and very few mere mortals are a match; perhaps Frank will one day test his own skills against her. For those of you who will be disappointed that there is no real resolution at the end of this chapter, know that this is an important storyline that carries over into the second piece in this series "It's All in the Name…" which I really need to get back to writing or it will never see the light of day, not that these snapshots haven't been entertaining. I love them! Keep the suggestions coming!_

* * *

"He seems to be very worried about that car," Eva Janko noted as she glanced out of the window towards the street where Jamie had begged off for a few minutes and was busy with a borrowed bucket, various cleaning agents and a scrub brush in an effort to restore some order to the backseat of the Mustang after Kaylin's tummy distress on the drive up had left it… well untenable in his opinion.

"Mom, he's just trying to clean it so we can use it later to go to dinner," Eddie defended as she returned from the laundry room where she was attempting to do the same for the little girl's battered wardrobe which had been quarantined in one of Jamie's overnight bags, now destined to be sacrificed to the dumpster itself. "We'll have to drive separately to the restaurant, Kaylin's car seat won't exactly fit in the Mercedes either, and I might have to run out to the store to find something else for her to wear if I can't get these stains out. Thanks for letting me borrow the washer by the way."

"Of course," Eva commented as she glanced in her elaborately appointed living room with its plush fabrics for layered window treatments, upholstered furniture and intricately designed floor coverings that bespoke a warm and welcoming ambience not always reflected in its owner's own demeanor. There lying in the middle of the floor amid a pile of blankets and pillows on her expensive floral-patterned hand-hooked rug was an exhausted sleeping little girl who for all intents and purposes did resemble a classic Christmas candy at the moment. It was almost too much for the older Janko woman to bear. "Perhaps Jamison and his daughter would have been more comfortable staying at a hotel, Edit," she observed.

"Mom, please, we're only here for one night," Eddie started as she could sense where this was headed. "I know this is a lot to take in with the news of the engagement and everything. Jamie really wanted to come up here and talk to you before this but he couldn't because he was hurt. We were lucky he was able to travel last week since he'd arranged the whole trip to California to propose on New Year's Eve at the beach. He's really an honorable old-fashioned kind of guy. It was beautiful, Mom. Here look at the pictures," she offered as she flipped through a score of them on her phone while carefully omitting the fact there was a video of the event available.

"Well it seems a bit sudden, doesn't it? Are you sure about this, Edit? And there's a child involved," she reminded with a glance towards the living room once more where Kaylin was softly snoring. "I mean you've only been dating a few months and an honorable old-fashioned man would have asked your father first," Eva replied after dutifully looking through the photos. "Not as if that is possible, correct? Or did he manage a ride to that new correctional facility to speak with him and leave me as the last to know?"

"We were partners for more than two years, it's not like we just met," Eddie defended. "And no, Daddy doesn't know yet, at least not about the engagement… I wanted to tell you first. But Jamie did meet him last summer a few months before we started dating... when Dad was in the hospital after that fight at the pris… I mean where he was," she explained carefully knowing how sensitive her mother was to anything pertaining to her ex-husband. "Dad really liked him after Jamie encouraged me to talk to him and work some things out," she added while going over to the cupboard to retrieve a glass. "It was good for us."

"Well that's just wonderful," her mother sniped. Things had remained cold between Eva and Eddie's father since his arrest had left her alone and near destitute before she'd rallied and worked tirelessly to successfully reclaim part of her former life alone. There was no love lost between her and Armin Janko any longer and the paperwork to make it official had been waiting for him the moment he was sentenced. "The son of the Police Commissioner with a convicted felon as a potential father-in-law. I'm sure that will be fodder for another round from the wretched media," she griped. "They've only now stopped harassing me since those articles went out in the city papers this fall when you started dating Jamison and they took pictures of his father and that child. It is terrible for my reputation, Edit!" she insisted. "My position at the office is threatened every time this is stirred up again. Who would trust an expensive real estate transaction to someone linked to such a liar and thief as your father!" she spat as her voice raised and the blue eyes flashed hard while Kaylin shifted on the floor before settling back into her nap.

"Mom, please!" Eddie begged again as her eyes welled up. "I'm sorry… I didn't even think about it that way… I just love Jamie so much and he sees right past everything with Dad. His father and the rest of the family, they're all so supportive…"

"Until the great Reagan name is sullied that is; mark my word Edit Katalin," Eva insisted. "One day you will come to regret trying to mix the two, or perhaps you will run away from being a Janko altogether and hide from it."

"Maybe I should!" Eddie hissed suddenly as her eyes now sparked with the same anger her mother had shown moments before. "I love Jamie and Kaylin and we're going to be a family!" she asserted. "And if that means I have to do it without your support, then I will be happy to become Edit Katalin _Reagan_ and not look back!" she blazed before the tears started falling in rapid succession. "I'm not going to let what Daddy did make me bitter anymore and ruin the rest of my life!" she finished before turning to run up the stairs and retreat to the guest bedroom to finish her cry in private before Jamie could come in and see her so upset.

As if on cue, the backdoor into the mudroom opened and the aforementioned Jamison Reagan entered and shrugged off his jacket along with the cold chill from outside while carrying in the cleaning supplies. "Thank you for letting me borrow these; I think I made it bearable now," he said as he flashed a warm grin at Eva, unaware of what had just transpired. A glance in the living room showed Kaylin to still be napping. "Of course she sleeps now," he muttered before looking around and noticing the missing piece. "Where's Eddie?" he questioned.

Eva Janko was a very controlled woman and was not about to let on to the strife with her own daughter. "I believe she just went upstairs to…" she began as the sound of the shower starting quickly wafted down the steps as Eddie sought further refuge while she composed herself. "She wanted to freshen up, dear," she added as she turned to the counter. "May I get you something to drink? Tea or coffee?" she inquired. "I'm sorry I don't keep much else on hand usually."

"Coffee would be fine, thank you," Jamie responded as he accepted a cup and took a seat at the table. "Mrs. Janko," he started before taking a sip. "Now that we have a moment, I just wanted to apologize for not coming here and speaking to you before I asked for your daughter's hand. I intended to, but…"

"Yes," Eva interrupted. "Edit explained. I understand… it is a very dangerous profession the two of you share," she commented as she stirred her tea bag before sitting down on the other side of the table and glancing towards the sleeping toddler. "Someday perhaps you will know the feeling from the opposite side."

Jamie's breath caught with the thought of Kaylin walking in the front door one day and unexpectedly flashing a ring from an unknown boy and had to concede her point. "Yes, of course…" he finished, suddenly at a loss for the correct thing to say and thinking back to the conversation he'd had with Rick at the bar the night before where his friend had revealed he was about to become a grandfather. Still this was not the time to give up the fight. "I am hoping she doesn't start dating until she's at least thirty, though," he offered with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"Indeed," Eva replied flatly as she masterfully let him hang on that for a few moments. "So are there any plans I need to be aware of? Edit did not mention a date or venue."

"Oh," Jamie stuttered a bit as he was still trying to recover from the previous topic. Suddenly it was abundantly clear why Eddie wanted them to have their ducks in a row before arriving. Eva was indeed skillful at seeking out the weak member and cutting them down in cold blood rather efficiently. _She would make a damn fine detective… or a lawyer,_ he thought ruefully before answering in the premeditated fashion. "We haven't really had the time to talk about it yet."

"May I be frank with you, Jamison," she asked.

"Of course," Jamie replied as his coffee cup rattled a little with a nervous skitter on the saucer as he put it back down.

"I believe it is traditional in this country for a bride's parents to assist with the cost of the wedding," she explained. "That will not be possible in this case due to the circumstances. Unfortunately because of what's happened with Edit's father I am not in a position to contribute. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh no, certainly," Jamie offered as that thought had not even crossed his mind. "No worries. Eddie and I will find a way to be able to take care of that ourselves."

"It's just that a wedding in the city… for the child of a man of your father's importance… I'm sure that will be costly," she added.

"Yes, well…" he started, suddenly catching on to this tactic and determined to force a change of course to outmaneuver her; feeling very much like a poor, old lame wildebeest being driven out of the herd at the moment. "I have a few ideas; my godparents offered the use of their estate outside the city. There's a small cathedral-style church on the grounds of an old monastery there. My mother… it was one of her favorite places," he explained before adding with conviction, "but it will be Eddie's decision. I will leave it up to her."

"I see," Eva nodded, and Jamie wasn't sure but he thought he might have done just enough to edge away from the jaws a bit there.

Upstairs in the shower, Eddie was finishing her cry masked by the sound of the rushing spray as she was leaning back under the scorching hot water with her head against the tile wall when suddenly her eyes opened and another realization hit… she'd left her partner down there alone without anyone to have his back other than a sleeping child. "Oh, crap!" she cried before quickly turning off the faucet while drying herself and throwing her clothes back on… pausing only long enough to wrap her wet hair up in a dry towel before hurrying back downstairs where she found her mother and Jamie still seated at the table. "I… I forgot about the clothing in the washer," she covered as she tried to read the situation. Jamie was still looking remarkably intact, which was surprising.

"Are you okay, Ed?" he asked as he stood up with a bit of worry. "Your face is all blotchy," he noted anxiously as he wondered if perhaps he wasn't the first target to go down knowing full well what happened to her fair skin when she was upset and crying.

"Oh no, that's nothing," she assured as she put a hand to her cheek. "The water here is so nice and hot… I probably overdid it. I'm so used to the lukewarm shower in my apartment. I'll just go check on the clothes and get them in the dryer so they'll be done before we have to leave for the restaurant," she offered before scurrying away to the laundry room.

"If you'll excuse me, Jamison," Eva piped up from behind him as she checked her messages. "I need to go upstairs in my office to clear up a few issues for a closing scheduled for later this week and then I would also like to change and get ready for dinner. Our reservation is for 5:30 at DeSanto's. Please make yourself comfortable. Edit knows where everything is," she added as she made her way to the stairs.

With one more glance at Kaylin, Jamie decided to follow his instincts and check on Eddie. He wasn't buying the whole hot water excuse at all. He found her standing in front of the washer and dryer, holding the little girl's new turquoise jumper up to her face and crying into it. "Hey, Ed… honey, please. What's the matter, baby?" he asked as he slid behind and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's all stained," she sobbed. "I bought it for her just for this trip because it was so pretty and now she can't even wear it. We don't have anything left for dinner tonight."

"Oh, c'mon it can't be that bad," he scolded until she held it up to show him. "Oh, well… yeah, that's not gonna work is it?" he conceded while scratching his head before pulling her back in towards him once more. "There's something more to it than the dress, right?" he whispered in her ear and then felt his heart drop when she sadly nodded. "Alright, your mom said she needed to do some things in her office… we've got a few hours, let's just run out quick and pick up some new stuff for our grumpy little bear to wear, okay?"

"You're not upset?" she sniffled.

"About the clothes or the something else?" he asked quietly as her shoulders shrugged. "Neither," he affirmed. "I told you once the key to surviving Reagan family Sunday dinners was being able to let things slide while you're ready to come out swinging. Your mom came out the latter today, but I'm gonna let it slide, okay? In her own way she made some good points… she did, honestly," he defended as Eddie looked at him in surprise. "Don't worry about me, I can handle a little veiled hostility… I'll wear her down eventually," he smiled. "I get that she's not thrilled with the situation, but I'll not stand for her hurting you, got it? You say the word and I'll pack up the car right now and God help us, we'll dodge cookies and take a naked child home tonight, right?" he smiled. "I'll even let you drive a little."

"You'd do that for me?" she smirked.

"For better or worse, baby," Jamie grinned as he hugged her tighter and nuzzled her neck. "I'd rather stay and see this out, but it's your call."

"Okay," Eddie nodded as she melted back into him… it felt so good to have some support and not be alone in this. "It's more about my dad than anything else," she revealed. "I don't want to leave it this way either; I've been doing that for years and look where it's gotten us."

"Then we won't run… we'll just perform a tactical retreat to gear back up," he laughed as he looked through the rest of the clothing before picking out the least offensive combination. "Here, we'll just dry this quick and she can wear it out to the store. Somehow I don't think Kaylin will be staying here alone with Grandma Eva while we're out."

Eddie let out a sudden gasp at the thought. "I dare you to get her to call Mom that in public," she smiled a bit, imagining the reaction to that gem. "That might just leave her speechless."

"In due time, lambchop… in due time," he smiled and kissed the side of her head. "I need to save the weapons I've got… your Mom's good, but she's not the only one that can play that game. As long as I've got you and our little girl in there, nothing else matters."

###

"So it was quiet here for dinner the past couple of weeks… we missed all of you," Henry commented as he looked towards his direct left at Eddie and Jamie while smiling at Kaylin after grace was concluded at the normal Sunday dinner at the Reagan family home the following week. "We know how things went in California," he added as he reached over to squeeze Eddie's hand. The eldest patriarch was just tickled with his soon-to-be new granddaughter-in-law and the announcement that Elizabeth had been chosen for Kaylin's middle name to honor his beloved Betty had just warmed her now official Pop Pop's heart to the core. "How was your trip to Rochester?"

"Fine," came the synchronized premeditated reply from the pair, both knowing in advance that the flat answer was never going to fly in this room but resolved to stick together as a team once more.

"Okay then," Frank commented with a puzzled nod as he glanced around the table at all the raised eyebrows. Danny in particular was now practically salivating with anticipation as he sensed his little brother was perhaps exposed over this whole meet the mother-in-law issue. It was the same instinct that Eva Janko herself possessed which is why Jamie was so adept and patient at dealing with it.

"What route did you take?" Frank asked when nothing else was offered as the food was passed around, ready himself to pry on a different front to open the conversation up but with less nefarious intent.

"Oh, uh, I-80 North through Binghamton to 41 and then straight across past Lake Skaneateles and Syracuse," Jamie replied as he handed the potatoes to his grandfather.

"Ah, the Finger Lakes," Henry sighed as he took the bowl. "Your grandmother used to love to go there in the summer," he reminisced. "Did you get the chance to stop in and see the antique wooden boats in that museum I told you about? Betty always made me visit that when we were up that way."

"Ow," Jamie grunted under his breath as he took a swift kick to the ankle from Eddie as they had agreed beforehand not to bring up the horror of Kaylin's cookie tossing activities at the dinner table, especially in front of Jack and Sean, but as a new player in the game she lacked trust and was afraid he would slip up with the mention of those beloved damn boats. Thankfully the ride home had been far less active, and the three had managed to arrive back in the city before ten on Sunday night more or less in one piece and clothed in the same outfits they had started out with. "No, Gramps. I uh, didn't figure in enough of a buffer for that this time. Maybe next trip," he offered truthfully but without critical details… so that's how this was done.

"Eddie, how did your mother take the news about the engagement?" Erin asked the question on everyone's lips since no information on the trip seemed to be forthcoming on its own. She frowned almost imperceptibly in one corner of her mouth. It felt like they were all being played in her typical little brother's fashion when he was skillfully hiding something, but in this instance it was twice as hard as Eddie seemed to be fully on board and backing him up. "Was she surprised?"

"Oh, well yes a bit," Eddie smiled as she managed to slide that huge understatement cleanly in front of the whole Reagan clan and apparently get away with it. "But Jamie worked his usual charms, and she's agreed to come down to the city in May to help me with the planning. We're thinking about possibly having the wedding out at the McPherson's estate, and I was looking at a mid-September date if we can arrange that with them," she added confidently… truthfully but without critical details as she had been advised. _Damn, he was right about this, and it is kind of fun,_ Eddie thought as she recalled the discussion she'd had with Jamie in bed that night after what she had feared would be a disastrous dinner with her mother given the outbursts they had both suffered beforehand. Instead she had watched in awe as he had artfully dodged and weaved his way through the conversation at the restaurant, steering clear of certain topics, ignoring calculated barbs and traps offered by Eva, and in the end somehow winding up with her mother consenting almost in shock to come and visit them in the city in late spring as he was determined to further wear her down and get her to turn the corner before the actual wedding date.

" _I can't believe you got her to agree to fly down for a few days," Eddie had whispered as they were laying in bed that night snuggled together under the covers while Kaylin slept with her blankets and pillows on the floor nearby so they could keep a close eye on her in a house boobytrapped with fine breakables. "No one has ever handled my mother, not even my dad. Where on earth did you learn how to finesse people like that?" she wondered._

" _Three years at the top of the J.D. program at Harvard Law added to thirty years of Sunday dinners as the baby of the intermeddling Reagan family, and a father that's the best hound dog in the business," he revealed with a smile as he kissed her forehead. "I had to come up with a few tricks to survive and get away with stuff or I'd have been trampled and smothered a long time ago. You've met my family, right? Gotta be sharp and on your game when you do it though, or you'll fall and get ripped to shreds."_

" _So you try this stuff with me too, right?" she'd frowned and propped herself up on an elbow to study his face in the soft light coming in from the window._

" _Never, lambchop. You're the only one that sees right through me."_

" _Right…" she trailed off, thinking about all the times he'd manipulated her in the past. "Oh, you're doing it to me right now aren't you?!" she laughed and smacked him lightly on the chest before leaning in and seeking his lips, deepening the kiss until she could feel his heart quicken as he sank back against the pillows and pulled her in closer. "Teach me... I wanna be able to do that to my mom and your family too."_

" _Patience, young grasshopper," he smirked as her hands traveled across his body and she felt all the resistance leave him. "Edit Katalin Janko, for shame… in your mother's house," he murmured as she worked over him gently, mindful of the fact that they were not alone in the room and there was only so far he'd be willing to take this. She stopped once again with a sparkle in her eyes as he lay completely relaxed underneath her touch._

" _That," she whispered in his ear, "is how Jamison Reagan gets taken care of... Janko style."_

" _Oh Eddie," he moaned softly as he put a hand up to cup her cheek. "And that's why you win sensei… always. No one else has that power over me."_

" _Teach me," she'd insisted, and that was how the two of them ended up sitting at the Reagan family dinner table as a united front, having rehearsed their responses for the whole of the previous week as they were determined to keep the details of the trip to Rochester close to the vest._

"So that's it?" Danny prodded with a suspicious eye; the whole family had got an inkling that Eva Janko could be a real handful through bits of conversation here and there over the course of the last few months as they had come to know Eddie and her background, and he had been looking forward to Jamie coming up against a classic holy mother-in-law terror and getting his butt whooped a little. Instead the kid looked like he had managed to enamor the older woman in his typical goody-two-shoes fashion, and that was well… disappointing to his older brother.

"Of course," Jamie offered with a practiced smug look around a bite of his dinner. "What did you expect? Mother's always love me, Dan," he offered, though if pressed he'd have to admit that the weekend with Eva had taken nearly everything he had within to remain even-tempered and although it had been his suggestion, he was secretly dreading the rematch. Still if it eventually lead to Eddie settling things with her mother, especially before the wedding… it would be well worth it in his opinion. He knew the strife within her family had deeply hurt her in the past and was determined to do his best to smooth it out.

Danny frowned and pushed his plate forward a little; he wasn't buying this at all but Eddie had remained straight faced and continued to offer no further clues as to what had really transpired. _Damn it,_ Danny thought as his detective spider sense tingled, _he's coaching her. This is all a setup. Something big must have gone down if he went to all this effort._ Now he was more determined than ever to get the scoop. Eddie might make a more difficult target, but Danny's eyes soon shifted over to the little girl sitting in between them and a smile crossed his face. Getting the information out of a chatty two-year-old should be… well like child's play.

"Kaylin," he grinned with evil intent as both Jamie and Eddie's eyes popped up at him. _Gotcha little brother,_ he sneered. "How was your long trip in the car last week, sweetheart?" he asked in a sing-song voice, waiting for her to dish out something juicy as the toddler had a memory for detail that rivaled Jamie and Frank's own.

"Fine," the little voice answered without hesitation while Jamie could not conceal his smirk, as if Danny thought he would leave an opening like that… child's play indeed. "Grandma's always love me," she added right on cue just as rehearsed to further frustrate her uncle.

For his part Frank had just been sitting back and observing the banter back and forth, masterfully reading between the lines. He had a fairly good idea now of what might have taken place, but he knew that his son was a private person with a level head on his shoulders and if he felt the need to keep the details confidential, well there was probably a good reason for it… likely to spare Eddie's feelings. "Demosthenes?" he questioned, knowing that Jamie was apt to be the only one at the table to catch the reference to the ancient expression regarding fighting and running away in order to live and fight another day.

His youngest's wry smile was enough to let him know he was right and it would be a cold wind blowing in from Rochester later that May.

* * *

 _Boy that was a really tough one to write as a backstory while staying true to upcoming events so we'll call that a draw with a slight advantage to the hometown boy in our initial Harvard vs. Mommazilla matchup. She had him off guard there in the beginning, but he got his wits back about him and finished strong. Unfortunately as he said, you have to be sharp when you play these games and events that transpire in the next story will leave him vulnerable for round two in their next meeting and Eva will get a clear shot to leave a deep mark while his blond protégé will certainly have her hands full trying to hold things together._


	9. Rebound (Part I)

Chapter 9

Rebound (Part I)

 _This one is for JamieandEddieLuv who asked for a Snapshot from Danny's point of view for the time that Jamie was trapped under the beam in the basement. That turned into a two-shot as I've always wanted to write a little something about one of their purported weekly basketball games, so I thought I would start there and have it trigger some flashbacks for his overprotective big brother when Jamie tries to get his game on a little too soon after the accident._

* * *

"Kid, are you sure this is a good idea?" Daniel Reagan fretted as he stalked behind his little brother after he spotted Jamie carrying his gym bag into the locker room at the Flatbush YMCA in Brooklyn before one of their regularly scheduled, loosely organized Thursday night NYPD-league three on three half court basketball games. "I mean it's only been a month since the accident. Did your doctor even clear you for this? More importantly, does Eddie know you are here?"

"Geez, worry much, Ma?" Jamie griped as he took off his coat and sat down at a locker to switch out his loafers and warm sweatpants for a pair of shorts and court shoes. "And the answer is yes, yes and yes. I'm fine. Dr. Abrams gave me the go ahead to start exercising again in moderation and I'm scheduled for my last checkup with him tomorrow morning before I'm cleared for full duty. I promised Eddie I'd take it easy tonight and just practice some outside shooting, okay? I need to start getting my legs back."

Danny's glance at those aforementioned legs did nothing to ease his mind as any number of fading bruises were still evident from that night a sabotaged propane explosion at the Bridgewater construction site had left his brother trapped under a large support beam in the basement of a building and immersed in freezing cold water for nearly an hour. The resultant hypothermia and trauma had left him in cardiac arrest and subject to CPR and multiple rounds of defibrillation for nearly forty minutes once he had been pulled out from under the rubble before the doctors at St. Victor's Hospital had been able to warm him sufficiently for his heart to restart in a regular rhythm. Jamie had spent more than a week in the hospital recovering from severe bruising as a result and his cardiologist had been loath to release him before that as the markers in his daily blood tests had continued to be slightly off.

"Just practice, then," the older man growled. "You're not getting in the game tonight."

"Hand to God," Jamie promised as he offered a three-finger boy scout salute over his shoulder before he resumed tying his shoelaces. Danny was still frowning and tagged along close behind as his younger brother tossed a towel over his shoulder and grabbed the ball from his bag before closing the locker with a bang and making his way out to the court.

"Hey, Jamie!" Matt Bowman, another detective out of Danny's precinct at the 5-4 greeted them with a big smile as he came over to grasp his hand. "Good to see you, man!" he exclaimed. "Mike!" he called over to their other teammate who was a technician at the NYPD forensics lab and another longtime friend. "Look! We've got our best point guard back!"

"Oh yeah! 'Bout time!" Michael Becker grinned as he looked up and joined them from the bench. "We've been getting plastered every week since you've been out. Detective Reagan here's no good on point. Can't pass the ball to save his life. All he does is foul."

"Figures," Jamie smirked as he took the ball to his chest and faked a throw towards his big brother.

"Watch it," Danny replied, shaking his head. "Besides it's 3 on 3… there are no foul counts. And Dr. J here's on modified duty until he gets the all clear from the doc tomorrow so you boys are stuck with me again, like it or not," he insisted while pointing towards the sideline. "He rides the bench all night."

"Great," Matt sighed. "Another week with no sub. Those guys from the bomb squad are gonna kill us again. My legs are still sore from getting whooped by the girls from the 2-7 last week."

"Kid's rusty… no way he sinks more than a few shots anyway. We won't miss him," Danny asserted as the four began to loosen up with about twenty minutes of warmup. For his part, Jamie was just happy to be back on the court and eager to rid himself of the cobwebs from the past month. By the time the game was set to start though his legs were feeling a little shaky, and he was content to sit down on the bench and watch while things went along as Matt had feared with the 1-8's Bombers winning the first game 21-12 and comfortably ahead 14-8 in the second of the best-of-three straight to 21 series. Danny started the play out of the back with a quick bounce pass to Mike who managed to dribble past his defender and chest one to Matt directly under the basket where a flagrant foul sent him hard to the floor clutching his right ankle.

"Damn it!" he grimaced as he glared up at his repentant but smug opponent who stepped off before Danny and Mike were able to get to their teammate's side as Jamie hurried over from the bench.

"Crap, how bad?" Mike asked as he looked down while leaning over and sucking air with his hands on his knees. Having no useable subs meant the three of them were bordering on flat out fatigue by this point and there would be no point trying to finish things off down a man when they were already in a hole with the scores as it were.

"Just rolled it over," Matt replied as he pulled his knee up and cradled the ankle. "Stupid sprain. I'm done for the night though, go ahead and call it," he advised. "We'll get them next time."

"I can finish it out," Jamie insisted as he joined them. "What?" he questioned as Danny stood up straight frowning with his sweaty hands on his hips. "You said yourself I'm rusty. They'll end this quick with a few more baskets. Just set me up on the outside and I'll shoot some rainbows and stay out of the key. C'mon, let's not give these guys a forfeit score. Make them earn it at least."

"He's right, Dan," Mike added. "Maybe Jamie can get a few points on them that way… we'll look more respectable in the final grid at the end of the season if nothing else. Let's get you up, gimp," he advised as he reached down and pulled Matt to his feet so that he could hobble over to the bench.

"You sure, kid?" his brother sighed as he picked the ball up off the ground and tossed it to Jamie. "Eddie's gonna have my hide if she hears about this, but… I hate to lose to those blockheads without a fight. Take the free throws then, I guess."

Two successive swishes narrowed the score to 14-10 as play restarted. On the following break, Danny managed to steal the ball off an errant pass and flick it to Jamie on the outside where a high arching shot resulted in another satisfying basket. Mike then soon snagged a rebound, and he banked another two off the glass from outside the paint as suddenly the score was tied 14-14 before the Bombers called a timeout to halt their unanswered run.

"Man we sure missed those shots from the perimeter," Mike panted as he grabbed a quick drink. "You think you've got a few more of those in you?" he asked Jamie who was already starting to feel a little more heaviness in his legs than he had anticipated, although there was no way he was about to let on to that fact in front of his brother, not after such a short time back on the court.

"Yeah," he huffed. "Just try to keep Rehrig off of me… guy's like a bull out there. I got nothing for him physically."

"Switch it up with Danny then," Mike advised. "You bring the ball out of the back and take some shots from the top if you can. Danny can run inside on point to draw that guy off of you."

Several more minutes of intense back and forth saw the score tied once again at 19-19 with a single two pointer ready to take the game. Jamie lofted a sweet shot from the corner but rimmed it as he started to tire and Mike missed the rebound attempt putting them on the defensive as the Bombers played it back out. Danny fouled outside after attempting to box a player out, but the resulting free throw was missed and the ball came back out to Jamie for the restart. Instead of looking for a quick bounce pass, he dribbled in and spun to the right, faking a move towards Danny's advancing run before attempting a blind hook shot over his man resulting in a brick that hit the rim again and bounced off. Mike's effort at the rebound also missed and a few quick moves and a backdoor cut by one of their opponents sealed their fate and finished things out at 21-19 as the Bombers triumphed once more, resulting in some good natured ribbing as Danny and Mike sank to the floor in exhaustion next to each other following two hard-fought games.

Jamie stayed on his feet bent over with his hands on his knees and struggled to catch his breath after the impetuous decision to over-exert himself before standing up straight with the intention of walking over to shake hands with the members of the other team. The sudden vertical movement was too much, too soon though, and he was alarmed when his vision swam with black spots and the gym tilted precariously before gravity claimed him and his weak knees gave out as he descended in a graceless heap to the floor with a solid thud. Danny heard the gasps from the other players and looked over in horror to see his little brother sprawled out flat on his back on the hardwood with his eyes closed behind a stark white face and two members of the Bombers kneeling over him and shaking his chest. "Danny!" John Rehrig shouted to get his attention. "It's your brother!"

"Oh, Christ! NO!" he swore as he scrambled over in fear as his mind flashed back to the events of that awful night on scene at the Bridgewater construction site.

 _Those words._

 _"Danny, you need to come down here, son. It's your brother."_

 _Those terrible words and all the frightening possibilities they invoked had been enough to stop his own heart from beating that night as he sat in his desk chair in the squad room at the 5-4 precinct, waiting for a call from Jamie himself to arrange a meeting at Mr. Gillespie's jewelry store to pick up Eddie's engagement ring before Lieutenant Carver had run back in and switched on the coverage of the explosion._

 _"Danny," Frank's voice had projected a calm measure with that one word, but he could hear the chaos of an active scene in the background. His eyes had glanced up at the television once more as a chill knifed through his chest. Suddenly he had no doubt as to where his father was at that precise moment, and if he was there and calling him after the threats that had been made against those precincts... no, it couldn't be… please God, no... not again…_

 _Two NYPD Officers Reported Trapped Under Debris scrolled across the screen in a sickening bold italic fashion, effectively ending his denial._

 _It was cold… so very cold out._

 _The oldest Reagan sibling remembered precious little else about the drive over to the scene other than the fact that his heart had remained lodged in his throat and he had arrived in one piece before sprinting towards the collapsed structure bathed in flashing blue and red lights after abandoning his car somewhere down the block. Once there he had frantically searched for his father, finding him curiously small and insignificant as he was kneeling next to some god-forsaken hole in the ground that the firemen were trying to chip out of the side of the building's foundation wall. Ignoring hands that tried to block him, Danny had pushed his way in and landed hard on his knees on the frozen earth next to his dad, remaining uncharacteristically silent as the shock of the situation overwhelmed him. He had been just in time to hear Rick Fellows utter his own stinging words._

 _"He's still with us, sir, but likely I'm afraid," Rick was saying grimly as he paused to let the word sink in while Frank and Danny's hearts collapsed with utter disbelief._

 _Likely..._

 _Likely to die that is, not likely to live… no not ever the optimistic viewpoint. Whoever had come up with that stupid NYPD phrasing would have been likely to be shot in that instant if someone had dared to point him out. Danny heard words blur together about blood pressure and temperature dropping, airbags and something about Jamie being trapped under a beam but it didn't really matter beyond that one word Rick had already used. His little brother was likely to die in that basement at any moment now even if they managed to lift the debris off of him and there wasn't a single damn thing that Daniel Reagan could do about it at that point. Somehow Eddie had managed to worm her way in there through one of those tiny openings, at least he wasn't alone… not like Joe at the end. "He's slipping away… call her phone now if you want to speak with him," Rick had advised before disappearing into the darkness again, taking their hopes with him._

 _"Dad," Danny had choked out. "I need to be in there with him!"_

 _"You can't, there's no way to get you down there," Frank said numbly as he stood up on shaky, stiff knees and pulled his oldest with him, those big hands gripping him firmly with a strength that Danny could not comprehend. They needed to let the firefighters get back to work opening up the hole so Jamie had a chance… "Get me on the line to Janko's cell!" his father ordered as they returned to the command post. "I need to speak to my son!"_

 _What followed next was one of the most heartbreaking experiences Danny had ever been a part of. He remembered listening to his father pleas for his youngest to answer him in that deep voice that had been imprinted on all of his children's hearts from the moment they had entered the world, and when a weak reply of "Dad!" was heard Frank had implored his son to be strong… to hold out just a little while longer to give them a chance to get him out while Jamie had turned the tables and begged not for himself, but for a promise from them that Kaylin and Eddie would be taken care of when he was gone._

 _He was giving up… that damn optimistic glass-half-full-forever kid was quitting on him._

 _"Harvard!" Danny had yelled in frustration as he sensed from the tone that his little brother might have lost most of his fight. "Don't you dare give up now or I will personally dig my way in there and kick your ass all the way back out! Do you understand?"_

 _"Yeah," Jamie had answered. "Love you… t-too, Dan," he added before fading off into a talk with Eddie about Christmas presents and warm beaches… of wanting to surf and watch fireworks even while the rescue crew was pulling out all the stops to give him some sort of chance._

 _Danny later regretted the fact that he had not told his brother that he loved him back right then and there. Why had those words remained frozen in his throat? Was it because he feared the instant they left his lips there would be nothing left to say? That it would truly be over then?_

 _Everyone listening knew they had run out of time though as the talk had shifted to Jamie not being afraid as he said his goodbyes and begged for Eddie to take their little girl to the beach alone even as she desperately tried to assure him that they would go together. No one had really expected that would come true at the time, especially not his older brother who stood helplessly outside and waited for the inevitable to happen._

 _"P'ease t-take her to… beach, Ed... It's w-warm there..." Jamie had managed once more before growing suddenly quiet again as those were the last words anyone from above could distinguish over Rick's sudden shouting and Eddie's cries to Jamie to keep fighting before she was unceremoniously carried over to the open hole by George and dragged through by the waiting firefighters to join them on the outside._

 _Was that it? Was it over now?_

 _Danny had watched numbly as his father stepped forward to grab Eddie as she cried out and struggled to go back before he himself had pressed as close as anyone would permit to the opening to wait while the airbags were being inflated… while his brother's heart would almost surely stop beating... as it did in fact._

 _He held his breath as a few loose bricks cascaded down from the broken facade of the building and shouting could be heard from inside. Within a minute, the yellow backboard was seen at the window as Rick and George pushed it through to the medics and firemen who quickly placed it on the waiting stretcher while he tried to run forward to be near… to let his little brother know he was there, but the body laying there was so still and ghostly pale..._

 _It couldn't possibly be him, could it?_

 _Jamie was always in perpetual motion, even in his sleep as if he didn't have enough time to get everything done during his waking hours..._

 _Sounds were fading away. Danny barely heard Rick shouting to charge the paddles or the medic's confirmation of "Asystole!" as she started chest compressions while the second bagged him and hit a button on the waiting equipment. "Charging to 200!"_

 _He watched, stunned as Jamie's chance at life was quickly disappearing while his limp body jumped again with another surge of electricity... Eddie had now collapsed to the ground in spite of all his father's efforts…_

 _Danny could hear those words already, the ones that would be waiting for them at the hospital to be delivered by some nice, concerned-looking doctor with gray hair… "We're very sorry, but despite our best efforts…"_

 _Nothing changed as Rick took over and frantically continued CPR while they tried again… and again… and again... as everyone looked on in disbelief. Danny had wanted nothing more at that moment than to see his brother wake up and his anger at the situation soon spilled out and became apparent._

 _"Open them, goddamnit!" he had shouted as Wilson and Renzulli had gripped his arms and tried stop him from following the stretcher towards the waiting ambulance. "OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES! C'mon kid, please just one more time!" he pleaded. "Don't do this to me!"_

"Hey, guys stop, please! Don't do that to me!" Jamie begged as he came to almost immediately from where he had fallen on the basketball court floor and his eyes opened once more and focused on the faces above before he propped himself up slightly on one elbow. "Jesus, remind me never to take another nosedive in front of a room full of first responders," he griped as firm hands pushed him back down and the former adversarial bull in a china shop, Bomb Squad Commander John Rehrig, had his fingers pressed on the side of Jamie's neck taking his pulse with one eye on his watch.

"Weak and thready," he reported as Danny reached their side. "He's diaphoretic. I think we should get a bus. Matt! Call it in!" he thundered as Jamie's teammate was frantically fumbling for his phone at the bench. "Did anyone see if he hit his head?"

"No, no, and NO!" Jamie asserted with renewed resistance as he pushed the hands away before managing to sit up further while he bent his knees and wrapped his hands around them to steady himself. "NO BUS! I'm fine! C'mon, guys I just got a little light headed there for a second is all and of course I'm sweating, John… you just chased me up and down the court for the last ten minutes! Give me a second to get some air, will ya?! The last thing I freaking need right now is another trip into the ER. Please!"

"Your call, Danny," Rehrig advised as he took the decision away from Jamie and placed it in the older Reagan brother's hands. "If it were me, I'd send him," he added.

"Kid… he's right. Maybe we should..." Danny started before Jamie read between the lines and started to scramble back up to his feet, pausing for a second as three pairs of hands steadied him as he swayed slightly.

"I'M FINE! See! I just overdid it a little," he insisted once more as he regained his balance and walked over to the bench to grab a more comfortable seat and his water bottle as his brother hovered closely behind and the pair were soon surrounded by a tight half circle of six other concerned faces.

"Hey, guys, give us a second," Danny demanded as he knew he was more likely to be able to talk some sense into his little brother without an audience. He waited until the area cleared before starting back in. "Jay, seriously... I get that you don't want another ride in a rig, but at least let me drive you down to St. Vic's to get checked out, okay? After everything you went through last month we can't be too careful."

"Aw, c'mon Dan," Jamie begged as he squinted up against the lights at his big brother's worried face. "Eddie will have an absolute fit if she hears about this. I barely got her to let me out of the apartment alone to come here tonight as it was, and I've already got an appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Abrams, for a stress test tomorrow morning, okay? If there's anything wrong he'll pick up on it then. I go in tonight and there's no shot in hell that I get cleared for full duty tomorrow."

"Well maybe that's a good thing, Harvard," Danny frowned. "You shouldn't be out there yet if something like this could happen. All it takes is one phone call to Dad…" he threatened.

"And I'll be sure to return that favor at a later date if you do that," Jamie growled right back. "Look, I'm alright now. I just stood up too fast and things spun for a second. I'm not having a heart attack for God's sake, Danny."

"Another one, you mean," his brother reminded him as he recalled once again those forty terrifying minutes after Jamie had been pulled from under the beam where the hypothermia and shock had sent him into a cardiac arrhythmia before stopping his heart altogether as Rick and the paramedics on scene, and later the doctors at the hospital had struggled to restart it. Danny noted the stubborn-set jawline of his little brother and weighed that against the kerfuffle a call for an ambulance or worse… to his father or Eddie herself… would cause and he backed down as a normal coloring had already returned to Jamie's face and he was not showing any further signs of distress at the moment. Still, the kid had just bought himself an escort home for the night and a ride to that appointment tomorrow as Danny had the day off and no trust whatsoever that Jamie would bring up any of this to his doctor in an effort to get himself reinstated for duty.

* * *

 _And so Jamie has picked up an "overbearing and irritating watchdog" to use his later words that will accompany him to the cardiac appointment and see to it that the doctor is fully advised of the previous night's episode. What follows gives Danny pause to reflect on the rest of the events from the night of the explosion as well as maybe an opportunity to pilfer a bit of information out of his younger brother while his guard is down regarding that little trip up to Rochester to meet Eva Janko._


	10. Rebound (Part II)

Chapter 10

Rebound (Part II)

"I can't believe you're _still_ here," Jamie grumbled as he sat clad only in his boxers and a hospital gown on the table in the exam room in Dr. Abrams' office at ten o'clock the following morning while Danny stubbornly occupied the corner chair as he paged through a magazine. "Ever hear of the privacy act, huh?" he continued with a frown as he glanced at the monitors he was now connected to by a variety of sensors. "Didn't you think it would make Eddie suspicious at all when you invited yourself over to stay on the couch for the night and then practically followed me into the bathroom when I went for a shower?" he sighed. "And that story you gave about the check engine light coming on in your car and not wanting to drive home in the dark was ridiculous," he added. "She saw through that right away… hell, even Kaylin knew you were fibbing about it. A two-year-old! No wonder you don't do any undercover stuff… you suck at it! I'm shocked Eddie took her tour this morning and didn't bang in to sit next to you and hold my other hand in here once she managed to pry the truth out!" he continued to gripe on a real roll now. "I'm gonna be hearing about this for weeks!"

"Can it, Harvard," his older brother advised as he patiently scanned through an article in _People Magazine_ on the adventures of the latest pop boy band. "Your blood pressure's going up and the only reason she did that was because I promised to not let you out of my sight until you get the all clear from the doc… and you will tell him _everything,"_ he emphasized with a glance up as he turned the page, "or I will."

"Fine," Jamie conceded with a glower as Dr. Abrams entered after lightly knocking at the door.

"Well, what do we have here?" he smiled as he made his way into the room. "Looks like you've brought…"

"... an overbearing and irritating watchdog with me," Jamie finished with a roll of his eyes. "I'm sure you remember Danny from the hospital, don't you doc?" he questioned.

"Of course," Abrams replied as he reached over to shake his hand, recalling the tight guard the entire Reagan family had kept on the young man after the accident. "Nice to see you again. I take it you have some concerns about your brother?" he asked.

"I'm just here to make sure he tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," Danny acknowledged. "He, uh, had a little incident last night on the basketball court," he added and then waited quietly as Jamie was forced to explain the circumstances behind his brief fainting spell.

"Well that does raise some red flags," Abrams admitted as he studied Jamie's EKG intently for several minutes. "Prolonged hypothermia, which mimics ischaemia, may cause arrhythmias and heart failure, but this appears normal," he assured as Danny sighed in relief. "And we'll have the results of the blood work the nurse drew when you first arrived back from the lab shortly, but I think we'll go a step further than the normal stress test we had planned for you today," he offered as he typed quickly to make some notations into Jamie's digital record. "Looks like we have an opening in the cath lab… we can still get it done this morning since you've indicated that you fasted from midnight as advised," he assured.

"Terrific," his weary patient sighed, wanting nothing more than for this whole ordeal to be over with. "And how many more needles does that entail?" he queried with a frown directed towards his brother, quite tired of the poking and prodding he had endured for the whole of the last month since being brought in under full CPR efforts as Rick Fellows had refused to quit trying until Jamie was 'warm and dead' in his own words. Luckily warmth had been the key and his heart had restarted with little apparent damage as efforts had been successful to raise his body temperature.

"Oh, just a few small ones," Abrams acknowledged with a telling smirk as he finished and looked up from the screen. "With your permission I'd like to perform an Intracardiac Electrophysiology Study to look at how well your heart's electrical signals are working. It's used to check for abnormal heartbeats or heart rhythms and will give us a definitive look at the activity of the muscle to make sure there is absolutely no lingering or permanent damage that would prevent you from safely returning to the field at work."

" _Intra_ cardiac," Jamie repeated with wide eyes as his sharp mind immediately picked up on and emphasized that word while he shot another worried glance at his brother. "You're going to stick something _inside_ my heart?" he asked as Danny's face likewise twisted up in concern with that revelation. Perhaps it would have been better to let what happened slide after all as he was now wondering how to explain _this_ to his brother's already agitated fiancée if something went wrong.

"Yes, but the procedure is very safe," Abrams assured. "Tiny wire electrodes are placed in the heart to do this test. We will give you some medication to relax you, but you will remain awake. Several IVs, called sheaths, are placed into the groin or neck area. Once these IVs are in place, the electrodes can be passed through the sheaths into your body. We then use moving x-ray images to guide the catheter into the heart and place the electrodes in the right places. The electrodes pick up the heart's electrical signals and small shocks may be used to make the heart skip beats or produce an abnormal rhythm. This will help us determine if you are prone to any arrhythmias or where in the heart they are starting. We did have that nagging high cardiac marker while you were admitted directly after the incident and I would feel much more confident with signing off on your return to work if we rule this out," he added.

"And it's safe? You're sure?" Danny questioned again as he had felt his own chest flutter and the blood drain out of his face at the thought of shoving something through a vein into his little brother's heart and of course the mention of the groin IVs were enough to make any guy cringe. Jamie had just gone three shades closer to transparent himself.

"Very," Abrams repeated. "There are of course small risks associated with any procedure, but it is certainly safer here in the lab setting than having you trigger an arrhythmia while playing basketball or chasing a perp as I believe you call them? The whole thing will last just over an hour and a half and you will be able to go home soon afterwards since you have a driver present. There is a small amount of discomfort when the catheter is inserted but nothing dramatic, and you may feel your heart skipping beats or racing at times. If you decide against this test I'll have to order a you to wear a Holter monitor… a portable device for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system for at least the next two weeks which will keep you completely off duty until then."

"You're not giving me much choice here, doc," Jamie grimaced as he considered his options and brought his hands up to cover his face. "I need to get back to work," he frowned and pursed his lips. "Book it, Dano," he sighed as he peeked over at his brother with a piercing glare that left no doubt that there would be heavy payback on order for this one.

###

"Detective Reagan?" the nurse called from the doorway as Danny jumped to his feet after having finally conceded to the annoyed glances of the other people in the waiting room, forcing himself to sit down in a chair in an effort to quell the panicky pacing he had been compelled to perform for the past two hours while Jamie had been undergoing his procedure. "Dr. Abrams said to tell you everything went well," she smiled as he grabbed his coat and rushed over to her. "There were no problems or arrhythmias detected so your brother has been cleared," she further advised as she led him down the hallway to one of the recovery rooms.

"Oh thank goodness," Danny sighed in relief as he whipped out his phone to tell the rest of the family the good news, particularly one blond-haired future member who had frantically barraged him with texts and calls throughout the whole of her lunch break once she had been informed about what was taking place, and a father who had been prepared to drop his budget meeting with the mayor to rush down and pace the same floors his oldest son had after he'd heard.

"I'll be at the desk getting his paperwork in order," she offered while leading him into the room and pulling back the curtain. "Now Jamie did react a little stronger than anticipated to the sedative we gave him so you'll need to wait a little while until he wakes up from it. Normally it only makes people drowsy and a little silly, but it just clear knocked him flat out even though we thought we were being conservative with the dose given his history," she chuckled. "Made for an easy test on my end," she explained. "I'm normally the one talking the poor guys down from the ceiling once they see where one of those big needles is headed. You're welcome to wait in here with him," she added as she pulled a chair over to the bedside where his brother was still resting under an array of wires and an IV line. "We'll pull the last line out of his arm and the rest of the monitors off as soon as he's up and ready to get dressed. Once he comes out it should wear off pretty fast."

"Thank you," Danny breathed as he took a heavy seat and tried his best to relax now that everything was over and the kid was truly in the clear. There really had been no time to do so previously with all that had happened after the explosion... Jamie's hospitalization and the subsequent investigation into the Denison scandal with the ensuing arrests had monopolized everyone's time. On top of that the family had to deal with the uncertainty and stress that had swirled around Kaylin's adoption, and just two weeks ago had come the happy event of the big New Year's Eve proposal in California followed by the still-murky details surrounding Jamie and Eddie's trip up to Rochester. Now this, he sighed as he looked down once more at the peaceful sleeping form of his brother, and for the first time allowed the heavy tears to come in private that had threatened for weeks now as his emotions poured out and he flashed back once more to the last time he had seen Jamie so still.

" _C'mon, don't give up, Reagan!" Rick Fellows was shouting as he and the medics tried to revive Jamie outside of that collapsed building while a whole contingent of NYPD officers surrounded their fallen brother in blue while looking on in dread. "He's not dead until he's warm and dead! We're taking him in now!" Rick had bellowed as he continued CPR and they loaded the gurney on the ambulance for the short drive to St. Victor's. A line of RMPs had escorted the vehicle and blocked every single intersection so they could make it there in just minutes. Frank had ushered Danny and Eddie back to his waiting SUV with help from his detail and the three had remained in stunned silence for the entire ride to the hospital._

 _At that point the horror of watching what was happening had been replaced by the absolute gut-wrenching silence of the waiting room walls as those close to Jamie had gathered to hear the sad news. Erin had rushed there straight from the family home in Bay Ridge where she had been keeping Henry company for the night during his extended babysitting duties. No one could bring themselves to speak to her at that point as she came in clutching Kaylin while helping her grandfather along. The sadness in everyone's eyes had been enough by then and words were not necessary._

 _Danny had positioned himself alone on the far side of the room where he had a clear view of the double doors and hallway beyond that led back to the trauma area… that's where his brother was and where he would come from… the nice concerned-looking doctor with the gray hair, probably the chief of staff or some other such bigwig that had been called in specially from his penthouse or some nice fancy shindig to deliver those rehearsed words to the Police Commissioner himself, just like they had done for Joe… "We're very sorry, but despite our best efforts we couldn't come up with a better way to tell you that you can just go home now and put up another one of those dining room chairs, you won't be needing it again…"_

 _Instead, the first one to come through those doors had been Addison Greene of all people, surely they wouldn't have sent her out for anything but to soften the blow. Seeing her did anything but that, and watching her try to comfort Eddie… it just brought back that night with Joe all over again when Angela had been there instead… what was it that his father always said about history repeating itself? "But when something special has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird…" something like that anyway… another Joseph had come up with that one awhile back in the last century. He was probably gone too. Joe and Jamie… so alike in every way now._

 _Danny had just glanced at his watch for the tenth time when it happened just as he feared… those double doors had opened to reveal a harried-looking doctor in dark blue scrubs and a white coat who immediately sought out and approached Frank Reagan. Everyone present stood silently then, Henry and Erin with their arms wrapped around Eddie while Kaylin slept peacefully on the couch… the whole room waiting for the final blow to be delivered. Danny was still alone as Linda had been out at a friend's with the boys and it had been difficult to reach her at first although she was expected to arrive with a police escort at any moment. There would be no waiting for her to join him though. No one was more surprised when the physician smiled as he took the Commissioner's hand._

" _We've got him back."_

" _What?" Frank had asked just to be certain he hadn't heard wrong as without fail, everyone else had gasped in disbelief._

" _He's still critical, but his temperature and blood pressure are coming back up. His heart is beating on its own in a normal sinus rhythm now and he's breathing over the vent. It was the cold, sir," he revealed. "It gave us the time we needed."_

 _Two hours later they were all escorted back to a private wing of the ICU to see Jamie for themselves with the knowledge that miraculously all the various scans run had come back showing no serious internal injuries. He was still connected to an arsenal of monitors and those hazel eyes remained stubbornly closed, but he was warm, alive, loved and expected to make a full recovery beyond the heavy painful bruising he'd received._

 _A night that Danny never wanted to remember became one he would never forget._

 _Eddie had settled herself at the bedside and refused to leave even when assured that it would be hours before he was expected to come around. Secure with the knowledge that his son was being watched and looked after, Frank Reagan's thoughts had turned to the_ _ones_ _responsible for putting him in that bed in the first place, although their intentions had been far worse._

 _Danny and Erin felt a tap on their shoulders. It was time to go take care of family business while Jamie slept. The three had hurried off... there were important things that needed to be done right away while Henry returned home with Kaylin and the boys._

 _It had taken Danny almost two full days to see those eyes open again… those eyes…_

Those same precocious hazel eyes that were now sleepily regarding him above a drug-induced smirking face.

"What're you doin'... are you crying, Dan?" a halting voice asked. "Am I dead? Did they kill me?... 'cause you should have seen the size of that... that freakin' spear she had in her hands, man… I thought I was a goner for sure..."

"No genius, you're not dead," Danny affirmed as he laughed in relief and quickly tried to cover his emotions as he wiped his face dry from the tears that had fallen… at least the nurse had been right about the silly juice; hopefully that would give him an out since he hated being caught red-handed all emotional like this; he was a former Marine for God's sake. "And I'm not crying, my eyes are just watering from whatever that germ-killing smelly stuff was that they sprayed in here."

"S'good, but did somebody take your cookie?" came the next puzzling but deeply intrinsic personal inquiry that just begged for an explanation. Thankfully it was forthcoming because Danny would have never connected the dots on this one. "You know 'cause you made Kaylin sad last night when you ate her last special one from Grandpa at snack time," Jamie revealed in all seriousness. "She loves 'em… and she made a face just like that."

"Nope, pretty sure I still have all my cookies," his older sibling revealed as he decided to have some fun and play along… little brother was always good for a round of laughs when he was like this.

"S'awesome," came the muddled reply as Jamie's mouth was still twisting around his words. "If you need some, you can look in my backseat 'cause Eddie said Kaylin tossed all of hers out there. It was s'awful, Dan," he concluded. "Never be the same…"

"On your trip upstate, you mean?" Danny's eyes sharpened as he sensed he had an unfair advantage here, but was not ashamed to take it. The kid had asked for it after all with that forced secrecy regarding the big engagement reveal to Eddie's mother during last Sunday's dinner and he knew there had to be more to the story. "How'd that ever go? Was Eddie's mother nice?" he pried innocently with evil intent as he saw the opening and decided to exploit it before instantly sobering and regretting that action when he heard the truth as all the fun and games suddenly screeched to a halt.

"S'awful," Jamie repeated, still hooked on that word although things appeared to be rapidly clearing up like the nurse had promised as his eyes were becoming more focused. "S'cary woman… Eva Janko is… hates us, our family… cops," he admitted as the words started to come easier and his tone grew serious before he brought a hand up to his forehead to pinch the bridge of his nose as if his head was splitting and closed his eyes once more for a few more minutes. When he continued his voice was stronger and Danny had no doubt that the drugs had finally worn off in their entirety, but his brother decided to stay on topic anyway in an effort to get it off his chest as it had been weighing on him heavily for more than a week. "She made Eddie cry, Dan… it breaks my heart more than anything else. I just can't stand that. I don't know what to do but I've gotta fix it somehow. I thought if I could bring her here before the wedding… if she could meet all of us, it would get better, but maybe I did the wrong thing," he added as he opened his eyes back up and stared at the ceiling. "That's why I didn't want to talk about it in front of the family… we're so close and it makes Eddie sad that she doesn't have that with her own."

"Gotcha," Danny frowned. "Sorry for bringing that up, I was only trying too…"

"No, I know," Jamie interrupted with a small smile as he looked over. "Thanks. I wish Mom was here though," he added dejectedly. "She'd know what to do. I needed to tell that to someone and Dad would go all Wayne Dyer on me, you know... _How people treat you_ _is_ _their karma; how you react is yours,"_ he quoted in his best deep-voiced impression of his father. "That's not going to help Eddie right now."

"You can talk to me anytime, Harvard… something like this... I know I goof around a lot but I'm always here for you and you know that," his older brother sighed as he sat back in the chair and considered what he had just been told. Marriage was hard enough… even harder than he had imagined lately, but to start out without the blessing on one side would definitely make it tougher on everyone. "You'll get through to Eddie's mom... if anyone can I know you will," he assured before trying to lighten the mood. "Pretty sad though when the old man can hit us with those damn mind-numbing citations of his when he's not even in the room. Guess he's got more influence on us than I like to admit. We'll probably wind up just like him one day sitting back in a three-piece suit in a big-boy office smelling like that bay rum aftershave… well you might anyway," he smirked. "Not for me. C'mon, speaking of clothes; you think you're up for getting your pants on? I may not be able to fix big problems like he can, but I do know people and I have a good idea of what will make a couple of them pretty happy today."

Daniel Reagan might not have been a great philosopher or on a fast track for a big corner office, but he was certainly right about knowing what would delight a particular pair of fair-haired ladies that afternoon. As Eddie's keys turned in the lock and she made her way into the apartment after a stress-filled day at work where she had worried non-stop despite all the assurances, her heart was filled with joy and relief at the sight of Jamie peacefully sleeping off the residual effects from his procedure on the couch with Kaylin napping face down on top of him; her tummy full of her favorite oatmeal cookies from Wilder's Bakery… the ones that her uncle had insisted on stopping to replace on the way home from picking her up early from daycare so she could be with her new daddy. Danny, in the meantime sat protectively guarding the pair from his perch on a nearby chair.

"Everything's really good?" Eddie breathed as her eyes begged for an answer from him. "It's over?"

"Yup, they're all yours… he's not going anywhere," Danny replied with a smile and a quick hug as he got up to take his leave after a long day and give his brother's newfound family a little of that aforementioned privacy.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she added with a sigh of relief.

"Anytime, Eddie," he replied. "We're family now, don't forget that," he advised. "I'll be there whenever you need me."

"I won't forget… thanks Danny," she murmured as he walked out the door a little saddened that at this point in time it was becoming increasingly difficult to say the same thing to his own wife.

* * *

 _So unless I've missed something or someone else makes a request, I think we've covered all the bases for anything outstanding from the first story "Water Under the Bridge". I must get back to writing the next installment "It's all in the name…" which will pick up early in the morning of that fateful day in May when Eva Janko is due to wing her way back into the Reagan family lives from her haunt in Rochester and any number of relationships will find themselves strained and irreparably changed after the events that follow. Danny and Eddie may just find themselves leaning on one another again in more ways than anyone could imagine._


	11. Karma with Sprinkles on Top

Chapter 11

Karma with Sprinkles on Top

 _From Chapters 35, 46 and 52 of "It's all in the name…" we find out exactly what happened that day at Grandma Betty's house when a five-year-old Jamie took his first major tumble down a flight of steps resulting in a matching set of panicked parents and grandparents, a trip to the ER, some double-dipped chocolate ice cream and one very sorry older brother._

* * *

"Mom, I can't thank you enough for watching the children on such short notice today since Frank was called into work unexpectedly and there's no one to cover my volunteer shift in the kitchen at the Pediatric Cancer Arts Festival," Mary Margaret Reagan breathed in relief as she quickly shepherded her flock of four through the ornate leaded glass front door and into their grandparent's home on a sunny but somewhat chilly Saturday in early June.

The expressions on the youngest Reagan's faces were variable though, ranging from a bright-eyed pure impish grin accented with two missing bottom front teeth from the youngest, five-year-old Jamison "Jamie" Reagan, to a more serious studious look from the second in line, ten-year-old Joseph "Joey" who was clutching his latest "Hardy Boys" mystery novel with an obvious intent to continue reading through the imposed lockup for the afternoon since Grandma Betty took her babysitting assignments seriously and rarely let the younger children out from under her watchful eye. Likewise, twelve-year-old Erin followed closely behind with her arms full of fabric and sewing patterns, determined to make the best of things and get a head start on a few new summer dresses with a grandmother who was a very skillful seamstress and always happy to lend a hand to her only granddaughter. The lone sullen-looking face belonged to a nearly fourteen-year-old Daniel "Danny" Reagan who was less than thrilled with the fact that his mother had disallowed his request to stay home alone for the afternoon despite the fact he was a teenager after all and not a baby like the rest of his siblings. Danny was wholly prepared to be bored for hours now as he was convinced the only television in his elders' house would either be off or tuned to some kind of kiddy show for his little twerp of a baby brother meaning he was sure to miss the New York Mets doubleheader with the hated division rival Philadelphia Phillies that he had been looking forward to all week.

"It's not a problem, dear," Betty assured as she helped Jamie unzip and shrug off his hoodie. "Shoes," she reminded the little boy in the foyer before he could dash off through her spotless living room and he obediently slipped off his sneakers and stored them neatly by the door before running to the kitchen in his socked feet. "Henry will be home to mow the backyard in a few hours and after that's finished the older boys can help him weed the flowerbeds," she suggested, eliciting a heavy inward sigh and roll of the eyes by Danny. The Reagans were not ones to shrink away from physical labor and although their grandfather was the odds-on favorite to remain as the Police Commissioner even as the new mayor was sworn in, he was not about to let anyone take over the maintenance responsibilities of his own home and yard. If there was anything worse than missing his favorite baseball team play on a beautiful Saturday, Danny knew it was missing them because he was toiling in a stupid garden pulling out innumerable dandelions and other prickly things all afternoon. Grandma Betty was nothing if not practical though, and he was well aware she had no qualms about handing out chores as if they were chiclets from the candy drawer.

"I help too!" Jamie replied excitedly while he circled back around with boundless energy as he returned to say goodbye to his mommy.

"No, child… not this time," Grandma Betty chided as she ruffled his short sandy-brown hair affectionately. "You needed a week's worth of oatmeal baths after Grandpa forgot to watch and let you pull up those poison ivy plants with your bare hands, remember?"

"Itchy," Jamie agreed with a wrinkled nose and grimace as he subconsciously scratched his arms at the memory of that unfortunate little adventure from earlier in the spring. "Leaves of three, let them be," he prattled off the lesson he had learned the hard way in a sing-song voice.

"That's right, baby," Mary Margaret smiled as she hugged him and scanned the rest of her brood, immediately noting the rather glum expression on one particular face. Daniel Reagan had never been the easiest child, and now that he was getting older he was starting to test the boundaries of the oftentimes strict Irish Catholic family structure so she had wavered about the decision to allow him to stay at home alone today while his parents were gone, in the end opting for the peace of mind generated by the fact that even Danny had respect for his no nonsense grandparents and was unlikely to step out of line at their house. After a few recent knock down drag outs with his father over his behavior, Mary hoped for a peaceful weekend in the family and did not want to give her son the opportunity to ignite Frank's ire once more.

"Well, I must be going or I'll be late," she informed them as she offered a hug and kiss to all, even her obdurate teenager who pulled away from her grasp. "Mind your grandparents and your father promised to take us all out for ice cream and mini golf this evening if he's able to come home at a reasonable hour."

"Fat chance," Danny muttered under his breath as Frank's rising promotion to Chief of Detectives eight months ago had resulted in multiple missed Saturdays like this one during an uneasy adolescent adjustment period when the boy could have really used a more steady and less stressed paternal presence in the home like today when he and his dad might have spent the whole afternoon at the ballpark together, something that had not happened once yet this year. Still it seemed to Danny that his parents always found time to cater to Jamie's needs as the youngest, although if he were honest with himself he would have admitted that was because his little brother was generally cheerful and happy with whatever attention he received while the older children's activities were more demanding of time and difficult to schedule around. It was with that bit of jealousy though that he grumbled as he viewed Jamie's excitement over the prospect of family time at the putt putt center.

"Can we get chocolate with _sprinkles?"_ the little boy was asking in wide-eyed wonder at the thought of his two most favorite things.

"Of course, baby… as long as you are a good boy this afternoon and your father is able to get away on time, okay?" Mary reminded as she pulled him in for one last hug before standing up to take her leave. "I should be home right after five o'clock to pick you up. Love you all and thanks again, Mom. I'll be in the stand at Cedar Beach Park… here's the number for the office there if you need to reach me."

"Oh, we'll have no worries here, dear. Just go and enjoy yourself," Grandma Betty assured as she took the paper anyway and put it in her apron pocket before she saw her daughter-in-law out and closed the front door behind her. "Now, children… what would you like for lunch?"

"Grilled cheese!" came the shrill little excited voice of her youngest grandson and an instant moan of disapproval from the other three.

"Not again!" Joey complained as he smacked the side of his head… just how many of those sandwiches could one little kid eat before they burst out of his ears, he wondered. "Grandma, we always have those at home for lunch. Can we have something else, _please?"_ he begged as he pulled out his own big puppy dog eyes for added measure.

"Well," she smiled as she sought to preserve the peace. "Jamison may have his grilled cheese, but I have leftover pot roast from yesterday's supper. How about some hot open-faced sandwiches with gravy?"

"Yes, please!" came the unanimous enthusiastic reply from the four as they all knew their grandmother was an excellent cook, and any lunch she prepared like that was sure to be mouth-wateringly good.

"Very well then," she agreed. "Keep yourselves occupied for a few moments while I'm in the kitchen."

"Grandma, may I please turn the television on to watch the start of the baseball game?" Danny asked in his most polite, penitent voice… all the while knowing that Betty Reagan was not a fan herself of the All-American game… too much spitting, swearing, scratching of private regions and unholy consumption of alcohol on Sundays she claimed.

"Not with Jamison in the room," Betty tutted as she was determined the little impressionable boy would not be corrupted by such things under her roof, ironically with a similar logic as Danny himself who could not help but protectively cover Jamie's eyes whenever something even remotely scary or suggestive appeared on the screen. "Perhaps later when he takes a nap."

"But, Grandma, I'm big now," Jamie frowned in protest as he looked up from his toys with the same shared competitive spirit as the rest of his siblings. "No more naps," he insisted.

"We'll see about that, kid," Danny hissed under his breath as his brain began to formulate a plan to see to it that Jamie's eyes were shut by the start of the second game at the very latest, although he was unaware at that point exactly how prophetic those thoughts would be and how very hard he would be praying for those big hazel orbs open up again instead.

###

"No more stories, Danny!" Jamie whined as he tried unsuccessfully to wiggle out of his older brother's grasp as they sat on the bed of the spare bedroom upstairs while stage three of Operation Shuteye had failed to produce the desired results yet. "I wanna go downstairs to play with my blocks now!" the little boy insisted with frustration evident in his voice.

"C'mon kid, you love books… just lay down and listen to _one_ more," Danny demanded as he was growing desperate now since he knew his grandfather was nearly done with the mowing outside so he would soon be required to join the weeding brigade along with Joe and he was doggedly determined to be able to watch at least the last inning of the first game as a quick listen to the radio had revealed the Mets' superstar pitcher Dwight Gooden was currently flirting with a no-hitter going into the seventh inning stretch and the older boy was determined to witness history... now if he could only get the little twerp to cooperate. Thus far Danny had pointedly filled Jamie up on all the extra milk he could sneak into his glass during lunch when no one was looking and conned him into marching up and down the stairs countless times on a sabotaged game of hide and seek with his older siblings. Now came what should have been the easy part… the reading of a few cherished bedtime stories which would have normally seen the little boy fast asleep in la la land with barely a second thought.

Except for today of course... today of all days Jamie's eyes were stubbornly still wide open.

"Please, kid," Danny begged as he resorted to stage four bribery. "I'll let you beat me tonight at every hole if we go golfing and you can eat half my ice cream cone, I promise! Just take a little nap so Grandma will let me watch the baseball game downstairs before I have to go outside, pretty please with sprinkles on top?"

"Sprinkles?" Jamie's eyes lit up as he was at first tempted by the thought before his brain clicked on the fact that it was just an expression and there were no real bits of confection forthcoming, at least for now. "NO!" he cried as he frustratingly renewed his struggle. "I not tired! I'm big too! Let _me_ go!"

"Oh, you just have to ruin everything!" Danny finally snapped in a misguided fit of adolescent anger as he threw his little brother back on the bed with more force than necessary and scowled as he stood up. "I hate you!" he swore out loud and then immediately regretted those words as a pair of big shocked hazel puppy eyes stared back at him and took on an absolutely puddled expression before enormous tears immediately welled up inside and spilled over.

"Mommy says that's a _bad_ word!" Jamie cried as he jumped off the mattress to the floor and bolted through the doorway and into the upstairs hallway. "I'm telling Grandma on you!"

Now Frank Reagan himself was well-known in many circles to be a six-four tower of outright pure intimidation if the mood struck him just right and Grandpa Henry was of course famous for being able to drop two perps to their knees with just his patented evil eye look, but neither could hold a candle to Grandma Betty if her indomitable Irish wrath was sparked in anger, and even as a teenager Danny quaked in fear with the thought of the pending repercussions once she heard those ugly words coming out of her precious youngest grandson's mouth in a sitrep. He instinctively darted after his brother in a determined effort to stop him before he got that far, but Jamie was deceptively fast and agile for a little kid and he managed to avoid Danny's grasp until a last-second lunge finally met its mark and those reaching hands brushed against his back just as he hesitated and tried to stop himself in socked feet at the top of the solid oak staircase descending from the second floor of the home's high ceilings. Danny watched in horror as Jamie slid instead and lost his balance while his momentum carried him down the first several steps on his feet before launching him forward in a roll and ultimately headfirst into the solid wall on this side of the foyer closet when he came to the bottom.

The sickening thud as his little brother's head hit the plaster reverberated through Danny's heart and he stood frozen in place at the top of the stairs staring down in shock while Jamie's small body remained perfectly still where it had finally come to a rest facedown on the landing below. Time stopped as those last words spoken in anger echoed through his brain.

 _I hate you..._

"GRANDMA! GRANDMA! HELP! IT'S JAMIE!" Erin screeched immediately in a terror-filled high-pitched sisterly wail as she caught sight of what had happened from her seat in front of the portable sewing machine at the breakfast bar in the kitchen… a tone that had the Reagan family matriarch instantly dropping a load of freshly cleaned laundry on the floor of the back mud room and hurrying towards the front of the house with her heart in her throat. Joey was the first to reach his baby brother, however, as he sprinted over from his seat by the reading lamp in the living room. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he looked down and spotted a growing trickle of bright red blood spilling down Jamie's forehead across his face and onto the hardwood floor from a nasty cut on the side of his right temple.

"DANNY, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he yelled back up at his older brother who still remained silent as all the color had also completely drained out of his own face.

"SWEET JESUS, HOLY MARY AND… JOSEPH! Go get your Grandfather NOW!" Grandma Betty exclaimed in a thundering panicked voice after she rounded the corner and fell to her knees next to the prone little boy once his brother had run out of the room on his assigned mission. "Oh my God in heaven! St. Gerard, please bless this child in your mercy," she beseeched the holy patron of injured children before carefully cradling Jamie's neck as she rolled him slowly over on his back so he could breathe easier. A former nurse herself, albeit from many years ago, she was able to check some of the quelling fear in her heart as she thankfully noted the steady rise and fall of his small chest. "ERIN! dear, bring me some clean dishcloths!" she ordered and tried to stanch the growing flow of blood with pressure once her granddaughter hastily complied.

"Grandma, I'm sorry!" Danny cried as he finally found his voice although he was sick to his stomach at the sight below. "I didn't mean it!"

"Shush, Daniel Reagan!… now is not the time!" Betty glared back up at him with no mercy yet in her heart. "See what you have done!"

A loud bang of the back door and heavy running footsteps signaled Henry's arrival as he rushed to his wife and youngest grandson's side. "BETTY! HOW IS HE? What in the hell happened in here?!" he begged for answers while he put a hand on her shoulder and looked over while noting that no one had yet called for help as the now profusely bleeding head wound had already soaked through the first cloth. "God help us! Joseph! Bring that phone over to me NOW!" he ordered as his most level-headed grandson obediently pulled the telephone over on a long cord.

"He's not waking!" Betty stated the obvious in the background as her husband called into a direct line to have an ambulance and squad car dispatched to the Police Commissioner's home immediately. Despite her training and normally strong countenance she was still overwhelmed with the sight of the pale and still expression of one of her own innocents in this condition. "He's losing too much blood for a little one... we need a doctor! Henry, we must get him there quickly!" she advised as she glanced up in his eyes. "How will we ever tell Mary and Francis? Jamison is their baby!"

"Now Betty, he'll be fine, he has to be," Henry advised shakily before cursing out loud as the dispatcher gave him and ETA on the ambulance. "What do you mean it will be at least twenty minutes?!" he roared into the phone. "Do you know who you are talking to? This is my grandson bleeding and unconscious here!" he demanded before adding a "Son of a…" before he stopped himself as he realized three other Regan siblings were picking up on their panic and one look at Danny still frozen at the top of the steps confirmed that there were multiple levels of shock setting in with those around him. "Damn budget cuts closed too many firehouses around here, especially on the weekends! There's a big accident on the Verrazano and every available bus in the area is out. They're sending one from Flatbush!"

"Grandpa, there's an RMP here now!" Joey relayed as he jumped to his feet at the sound of the approaching siren and ran to the door to open it for the officers on reflex and out of desperation to do whatever he could for his little brother. He would have carried Jamie to the hospital in his own arms at that point if he could have as it was obvious even to the other children that he needed to go there quickly. "They'll take us!" he added with firm belief, after all his Daddy and Grandpa were cops and he knew they would stop and help any injured child they could. Surely all policemen did that.

"Betty, do you think we can move him?" Henry questioned just as a multitude of prayers were answered and Jamie suddenly stirred on his own.

"Grammy!" he cried as he opened his eyes and pulled his hand up towards his face while actively squirming his legs to his grandparents' great relief. "Stop! Hurts! Help me!"

"Jamison, child… Grandma _is_ helping you, please hold still now," Betty cooed in her softest motherly voice as she now sought to sooth him. "Do you hurt anywhere else?" she asked as she felt him up and down looking for other trauma or broken bones.

"No! Stop! M'head hurt!" he offered again as he tried to push the towel and the pressure away. At this point it had done little to slow anything down, and it was time for another replacement which Erin shakily provided after a second directed run to the kitchen, the sight of Jamie like that was making his sister physically ill and the tears were streaming down her face. "I want my Mommy! _P'ease!"_ he begged.

"We can't wait that long, I'm taking him to St. Vic's now," Henry proclaimed as he had seen enough to be fairly confident that they were only dealing with what he hoped was a superficial head wound, but he still wanted his grandson under a doctor's care as soon as possible to get the bleeding stopped. He gathered up the crying and frightened little boy carefully in his arms and tried not to jostle him too much as his two officers rushed in the house. "Shush now, Jamie. You get to take a ride with me in a real police car with lights and sirens, son," he cajoled as he tried to comfort the child and distract him. "Grandpa has you."

"Renzulli, stay here and help my wife," he ordered as he stood up while still applying pressure. "Jeffers, get us to that hospital, NOW!" he barked as the second man rushed back outside to open the door to the waiting car. "Betty, call Francis and Mary and have them meet me down there," Henry advised on his way out the front door. "You stay here with the other children and I'll call you just as soon as I know anything," he promised as he quickly disappeared off the porch and down the steps leaving the rest of the family and one very anxious and intimidated young Italian rookie patrol officer to stare back at Grandma Betty waiting for direction.

###

"Reagan!" Frank barked with annoyance into the phone at his desk. His day had already certainly gone to hell in a handbasket as his father was often want to declare. One of his top detective teams out of Manhattan North had lost the tail on a very important witness in an upcoming federal case and that man had just turned up dead in an alleyway in Soho. After fielding displeased calls from multiple agencies and offices from around the city and state, he was in no mood to suffer another fool as it were, but the familiar voice and tone it was offered with on the other side of the line was enough to stop his whole world from rotating with one single word.

"Francis," his mother started with deep regret. She had decided to call her son first out of guilt and abject fear as to how her daughter-in-law might react to the news that her precious and much-loved baby boy had been injured so badly under his grandmother's watch.

"Mom? What is it?" he asked as he jumped to his feet, forgetting for a moment that his own children were currently in her care. "Is it Dad? Did something happen?" he begged as he was instinctively already reaching for his car keys with the knowledge that his mother would never bother him at work in this manner unless it was something serious.

"No, Francis… son, it's Jamison. He's taken a bad fall down the steps here and struck his head. I'm so sorry, dear. Your father is taking him to St. Victor's in a squad car right now. You must meet him there," she advised as calmly as possible which did little to quell the instant parental panic those words ignited as he could now make out the anguished voices of his other children in the background as Joey and Erin were unleashing on their own version of sibling hell on Danny for his role in hurting their baby brother.

"It's bad?" he echoed in disbelief as part of his consciousness sought to make sense of what he just heard while the other part was already rushing down the steps to get to his injured young boy even as his feet remained firmly rooted to the ground in his office. "How… how did this happen?!"

"We'll discuss that later. He was unconscious and bleeding heavily from a cut on the side of his forehead," his mother advised as many years of being a police officer's wife came to the forefront and she offered the pertinent facts she knew Frank would need no matter how hard they were to say out loud. "But he woke up and was talking to us and moving around just before your father took him. The ambulance was taking too long, dear. Francis, you must fetch Mary Margaret and go down there."

"Mary," Frank breathed as he was suddenly overwhelmed at the thought of how his wife would react to this as she had been overprotective of this child since before he was born and given ample cause to worry throughout a difficult pregnancy after the heavy losses of two prior to that had taken a great toll on her mentally and physically. "Where is she…?" he asked as his normally sharp mind was rendered slow and impotent with this news.

"She's volunteering at the hospital benefit at Cedar Beach Park," Betty reminded him. "She gave me the number for the office. I'll call ahead so she's waiting when you arrive. She shouldn't drive herself. Francis, you must go and take her to the hospital," she reiterated once again as she sensed her son was in shock and needed yet another prompt. "Now, I'm sure Jamison will be just fine... but he's crying for his mother."

"I'm on my way; tell her I'll be there in ten minutes!" he affirmed before dropping the receiver on the desk without hanging up and running with all the speed he could muster out to his waiting car before driving off to pick up his wife in due haste. When he finally arrived after what seemed like an eternity he found her standing at the front gate of the park being supported by Sally Richards, one of her long-time friends from church. Mary had been left reeling by the news from Grandma Betty's call and the sounds of her other children in the background crying for their mother and calling out Jamie's name despite their matriarch's repeated assurances that all would be well soon.

"FRANK!" Mary sobbed hysterically as he parked and rushed over to her… wise advice offered on his mother's part as she was certainly in no condition to drive herself.

"Now, Mary Margaret, please don't go there… Mom said he's going to be okay," he sought to console in a calm voice as he helped her over to the car and thanked Sally for her assistance. "She said he was awake, talking and asking for you… that means it can't be too serious. You know how Jamie is, he bounces back from this sort of thing like it never even happened. He'll be _fine,"_ he emphasized, using the little boy's preferred words for whenever an unexpected bump or boo-boo occurred. "Pop just took him in like that to have the cut looked after otherwise I'm sure a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a few sprinkles would have done the trick," he tried to hearten before climbing back behind the wheel and pointing the car towards the hospital which was mercifully only a short distance away. Mary was not entirely buying his comforting act though and her knuckles were white as she clutched his arm on their way into the emergency department after Frank swiftly parked his car in one of the official NYPD reserved spaces up front and hurried them inside.

The couple immediately spotted an anxious-looking Henry Reagan as he was pacing in the waiting room, but Mary's vision tunneled as she noticed a not-so-small red stain on the front of her father-in-law's shirt from where he had held the little boy up against himself during the ride over in the squad's backseat.

Jamie's blood.

Frank immediately felt her go light on the end of his arm and he rushed to sit her down in a chair before she could faint.

"Pop, where is he?!" Frank choked out as he kneeled next to his wife and despite his earlier resolve and years of training he now found himself now firmly back in a panic mode himself with the sight.

"He's fine," Henry tried to reassure as he rushed over while cursing the fact that he hadn't thought to change or at least clean himself up before they got there. "The doctor was just out a minute ago. She said everything looks normal so far but they've given him a little something to calm him down and he's headed for a CT scan just to make sure before they stitch him up. They've already stopped the bleeding. He was very excited to ride in the police car with the lights and sirens on…" he admitted in great relief. "It's all he was talking about before we got here. Now Mary Margaret, don't you worry honey, he's a Reagan and we're all blessed with very hard Irish heads," he added in a mild attempt at humor to comfort his still-stunned daughter-in-law.

"How did this happen?" was the next question out of Frank's mouth as relief swept over him although he would not feel fully at peace until he saw Jamie with his own eyes. "I've talked to him… he knows better than to run on the stairs anymore."

"Francis, you'll have to ask your mother when you get home. I'm sure she's gotten to the bottom of it by now. I was outside in the yard before Joey ran out to get me, but if I had to guess it was just an accident. Danny was upstairs with him…"

" _Daniel,"_ Frank seethed as the recent strife with his oldest came rushing back to the forefront. The boy had become insolent lately, and if there was one thing he hated it was snide disrespectful back talk from one of his own children. "Of course _he_ had a hand in this."

"Frank, please… one crisis at a time," Mary begged as she finally found some composure and her voice as she pulled on his arm, thoroughly regretting that decision now to keep Danny from staying home by himself. It wasn't that he was untrustworthy… well maybe it was a little of that, but more so it was the fact that she was married to one of the city's top cops for many years now and they both knew far too well of all the dangers that lurked nearby at any given time.

The majority of their fears were allayed thirty minutes later as a smiling nurse wheeled a gurney with a now-sleepy little Jamison Reagan back from his test and reported that all was well. Mary was permitted to stay and stroke his hand as he was positioned on his side and further numbed up for a skillful and deft plastic surgeon who arrived to tend to the Police Commissioner's grandson personally and quickly left just eight tiny stitches behind to close up the cut before his mother was finally allowed to take him in her arms and snuggle with him on her lap in the big padded chair provided. Mary continued to rock while they cold packed for the swelling and waited for him to wake up and be discharged. It was soon apparent though that he would be enjoying his drugged state for an extended period of time as all they managed to pry out of him at first was a few content mumbled "Mommas" and a mention of ice cream and sirens before he fell back into a relaxed sleep once more and it was decided that Mary and Henry would remain and wait for the medicine to wear off while Frank caught a ride back to pick up his wife's car and deal with the second-most critical child crisis of the day.

Daniel Reagan knew in his still thudding and anxious heart that his father would be coming home for him soon.

###

"Daddy!" Erin and Joey cried in unison as they ran up to hug him while their father wearily made his way through the doorway at his parent's home. Now that all the adrenaline had worn off he found himself ready to sit down on a couch somewhere and put his feet up while he drank the neck off a new bottle of scotch, but first there were other important matters to tend to… namely one apparently missing oldest son.

"Where is he?" he asked coldly after pausing to reassure the other two children and his own worried mother that Jamie was in fact going to be just fine and would be home with Henry and Mary shortly… a wife that had made him promise on his youngest son's heart not to do anything rash as he dealt with the situation at home. It was a vow he was having a hard time remaining committed to as he observed the cleanup efforts underway to remove the traces of Jamie's accident from the floors and wall now that the 'crime scene' had been released as it were and their appointed patrol officer had been dismissed much to his great relief.

"Now, Francis," his mother tutted as she sought to calm him because she knew full well what was likely to take place when he got that look in his eye. "I've already seen to his punishment," she advised as her initial reaction to Danny's admission of what had happened saw him essentially dragged down the steps by his right ear and deposited in the corner of the kitchen to kneel on the tile floor. Despite all outward appearances when her Irish temper was on open display, Grandma Betty was not a full-on advocate for corporal punishment, at least not the hands-to-the-butt version, but rather a more passive 'suffer while you consider the consequences of what you've done' approach. No one ever wanted to kneel in shame on the hard floor in her kitchen, and it usually proved to be a far greater deterrent than the other option.

Today though, while her own ire had been satisfied, she sensed that Danny was likely to be on the receiving end of both approaches and had sent him out in the backyard to wait with the knowledge that his little brother was going to be fine after being advised that her own son was on his way home. She hoped to head off the ensuing confrontation if possible knowing that fear and shock was driving most of it.

"Where?" Frank repeated as that doggedly determined look remained, and his mother finally conceded to the point.

"Out back, dear," she offered finally with a frown and watched as he turned heel and left with the back door banging behind him. Once there, he discovered his oldest son was not cowering, but instead still kneeling down on now-bruised kneecaps while frantically pulling weeds out of the flowerbeds in an effort to show good faith to soften the blow before the axe fell. Danny stopped and sat back on his heels with a heavy swallow though when he noted his father's approach.

"I'm sorry, Dad… I didn't mean for it to happen!" was all that was offered at first before Frank took a deep breath and pursed his lips, counted to ten and prayed for the strength to hold his temper as things tended to just heat up between him and Danny whenever they got into it lately and Mary had begged him to take a different tack before he left her holding his injured child in her arms.

"Come over here and sit down," he directed with a heavy sigh as he pointed to the nearby park bench under the big shade tree. Danny complied immediately and left his gardening tools laying scattered about behind him. "Now I will ask you just one time, and I better hear the truth from the get go. What happened?"

"I was mad because Mom wouldn't let me stay at home by myself and I wanted to watch the baseball games," Danny admitted shamefully after a brief pause. "Mets and Phillies… today was the double-header," he added with a sniff to explain its importance. "Grandma said I couldn't put it on the TV if Jamie was there because she doesn't like what they do. She said I could watch later if he took a nap." A point well-taken by his father as he knew of his mother's near hatred for the game, at least the televised aspects of it.

"Go on."

"So the radio said that Gooden was pitching a no-hitter, and I wanted to see the end before Grandma was going to make Joey and me come outside and pull the weeds when Grandpa was done mowing," he continued. "I thought if Jamie drank a lot of milk for lunch and I played with him, he would get tired and fall asleep upstairs before that if I read him some stories."

Frank had to hand it to his son with a shake of the head and raised eyebrows, that plan was devious but not punishable on its merits.

"But I read him _four_ stories and he still wouldn't go to sleep," Danny admitted before going quiet with great guilt over the next part. "I got mad at him and said something bad and he ran away to tell Grandma and I… chased him and he slipped with his socks when I tried to grab him and he fell down the steps! I'm sorry, Daddy! I really am! I was so scared when he hit his head at the bottom! I told him he was always ruining everything and that I hated him!" he sobbed into Frank's shoulder as that final ugly fact came out. "I didn't mean it! I didn't!"

Frank's thick mustache wrinkled as his anger quelled with the equal measure of anguish in his oldest son's voice and he put an arm around the boy and said a small prayer to thank his wife for her insistence he listen before reacting with Danny for once. There was obviously something else behind this that had likely driven what happened here today as well as the recent troubles the two had been having. Perhaps something positive could come out of this day after all.

"Why were you really upset today, Daniel?" he asked. "It wasn't with your little brother was it?"

"I wanted to go to the game with you," Danny admitted finally as he wiped some tears. "We always would before… sometimes at least, but now you have to work all the time and Jamie gets to do the stuff with you that he likes."

Frank carefully considered that revelation and the guilt on his own heart that it invoked. He had in fact allowed the job to take over things with the family lately as an appointment to that important post under his own father's tenure had garnered whispers of favoritism he vehemently wanted to deny by proving to everyone that he had indeed been the best man for the job. Maybe it had gotten out of hand lately though, and his wife and children certainly deserved more consideration than that, plus a bit of sibling jealousy was not wholly unexpected given the age differences between the two boys. They each needed different things from him at this time.

"Daniel, your brother is always happy whenever we do things as a family or he gets a small treat like an ice cream cone… he doesn't expect or demand special treatment although that will change as he gets older as it did for you. I understand why you were upset and I will try to make sure that you and I spend some more time doing the things you like together. It is only fair, but that doesn't excuse your behavior today, and there must be some punishment for that because Jamie was badly injured through no fault of his own... do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Danny admitted as he prepared himself mentally for a proper spanking not knowing of course that Frank had resolved himself to step away from that if at all possible.

"Do you know what karma is?" his father asked while Danny looked up in surprise and shook his head. "Some people believe it's the force created by a person's actions that causes good or bad things to happen to that person. Something very bad happened today because of your actions, didn't it?" he asked as his son nodded with down-turned eyes once more. "Now we must change it so something good can come of it. You will spend your Saturdays here helping your grandparents weed the gardens and mow the lawn around the house until everything is all caught up. Then you and I will have that afternoon together at the ballpark, okay? Do you understand?"

"I think so, sir," Danny admitted as he gratefully got up, eager to get started now right away. "But will that make Jamie feel better? Maybe him and Joey can come too?" he offered hopefully. "I still don't really get this karma stuff though," he admitted as he backed up. "I mean if I made something bad happen, shouldn't something bad happen to me? I don't have to get spanked?"

"No, son," Frank advised as he took his eye off the boy and glanced back at the house to see his mother frantically pounding and waving from the kitchen window. "Sometimes the universe has a funny way of just evening things… WATCH OUT!" he yelled as he caught on to what her distress was about just as Danny tripped backwards over the tools he had left lying about and landed butt first on the business end of a heavy old iron rake inciting a howl of pain far greater than anything his father's hands would have produced as the resultant bruised tailbone would see the boy either standing or sitting on an inflated doughnut cushion for the whole of the next week. The ironic situation was further magnified as Jamie arrived and stepped out onto the back deck from the kitchen to offer his big brother the rest of the special oversized double-scoop chocolate ice cream waffle cone that a still-shaken Grandpa Henry had stopped to buy him on the way home.

"That, son, is karma with sprinkles on top."

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed and thanks to everyone who commented about that flashback in the original story. I know it's been mentioned on the show by Danny that his father was known to have a heavy hand with him for discipline… I believe the words were "war clubs," but I wanted to show a kinder, more gentle Francis Reagan as his oldest son had no real intent on harming Jamie and he already bore the wrath of Grandma Betty in this instance. Now it's off to write several other missing scenes that will post after the conclusion of "It's all in the name…"_


	12. The Honeymoon (Part I)

Chapter 12

The Honeymoon (Part I)

 _As promised, here is the first chapter of the three-part honeymoon addendum to "It's all in the name…" since I figured it was fun to find out what came of our little Jamko pair's Nordic adventure before diving into the extended details which have sparked my own interest in Iceland and a plan to visit there myself is now in the werks (ha!)._

* * *

7:10 am Sunday  
Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

"Good morning, Mr. Reagan," a soft, sultry voice cooed in Jamie's ear as he lay in exquisite comfort between the silk sheets of the bed in their room at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel during the early hours on Sunday morning after the wedding.

"Shh, don't let my wife hear you… just in case you didn't know I'm married now," came the cheeky reply as he rolled over and drew her in closer, reveling in her touch once more as he sighed and closed his eyes in sheer happiness. It was over... all the stress and anxiety of the last four months had finally been put to rest and now it was time to relax and truly enjoy the start of their new life together. Their overnight flight to Reykjavík, Iceland, was due to leave at 9:15 that evening from JFK.

"I'm so glad we have this day to ourselves to recover from the past few weeks," Eddie added as she traced his lips lightly with the tips of two fingers. "I think I could stay in this bed all morning until we have to checkout and head for the airport tonight… well except for the fact that…"

"Let me guess, you're hungry," he chided as they shared some more kisses. While it felt strange to be here in the city on a Sunday away from the family… away from Kaylin… they decided it was best so as not to upset her with another goodbye, plus it was important for the two just to connect away from everyone else without distraction after the recent whirlwind of events.

"I was gonna say I need to pack some different clothing… wiseass," she smirked. "I still can't believe you of all people want to go somewhere cold after…" she closed her eyes as she relived the terror once more from the building collapse at Bridgewater the previous December when he had nearly died of hypothermia. "You know… you had a really tough time with the winter after what happened last year. Why Iceland?"

"C'mon, eventually I thawed out after a few months," he admitted lightheartedly as he deflected and searched her worried eyes while he formulated an explanation. "We've both been to the regular places with other people… the beaches and resorts. I wanted to share a trip with you to somewhere neither one of us had experienced before so it was new. A place that is so staggeringly beautiful and otherworldly… just like one Edit Katalin Reagan," he smiled with great self-satisfaction as he slid that perfect compliment in there while he brushed the hair back from her face. "It just seemed to fit, lambchop."

"Oh, Reagan," she gushed like a giddy schoolgirl as she batted those baby blues right back at him. "That's so romantic, baby… and such a complete and utter load of bull," she huffed as she grabbed her pillow and batted him with it. "I was warned… you and your father have some kind of obsession with this place… now the truth, spill," she demanded.

"Okay, okay," he laughed as he grabbed it and returned the favor. "It's the boats… the wooden schooners… the sailboats. Dad has all these novels about sailing in his library. When I was little we would read those stories together at bedtime or if I was sick or anything… they were all about the adventure of putting yourself up alone against the best and the worst that Mother Nature could offer. I've just always wanted to really live it… to hear the sound of wind in the rigging, the water lapping at the bow of the boat…"

"And you can't do that on the Hudson? I mean I see people out there in sailboats all the time."

"Not the same, you need the ocean and an old wooden boat without all kinds of crazy technology to think about what it must have been like to have the courage to set out on your own like that, just one man and a boat against the sea. I never..." he trailed off.

"You never what, Jamie?" Eddie's eyes sought an answer as she had the sense that some of this was connected to part of what he was still working through… things had been so much better since the events had unfolded after Quinlan, but every so often there was a little wrinkle that brought just a touch of it back to the surface… that hidden insecurity that he felt about himself all these years. Despite her encouragement, he had never returned for a final wrap-up session with Dr. Meherin, insisting as always that he was 'fine' now and had put that all to rest.

"I never felt like… well, I mean I never imagined that I would ever really have the guts do something that," he finally admitted. "Everything for me was always so safe and ordered, but I used to daydream about what it would be like to be brave and adventurous instead. This trip… I know it's not the same, but we get to take an afternoon sail out around the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in a restored wooden schooner and then come back and spend that night in a cottage by the ocean… hopefully with a spectacular view of the Northern Lights and a few other wonderful things," he added suggestively as his hands roamed under the sheets once more to excite a few other precious items he had been dreaming about for a long time and the resulting laughter and passion took their minds off of everything else for the rest of the morning.

###

9:35 pm Sunday  
Icelandair Flight 306, somewhere over the North Atlantic

"You sure you're all settled now?" Jamie asked as he eyeballed his wife and her very particular ordering of blanket and pillows as she adjusted the questionably comfortable first-class seat back right after takeoff and arranged herself to sleep.

Eddie sighed in contentment as she fluffed everything and snuggled in happily like a beautiful little bird in a warm nest. "What did you expect with an overnight flight, Reagan? I mean you told me it's like five and a half hours from here, but somehow we leave New York after nine and get there when it's already almost seven in the morning, and then knowing you we'll have a whole day of stuff planned for us… plus I'm tired after all the eating and shopping and other things we did the whole day," she laughed suggestively as she reached for his hand… the one that struck her as looking so different now with that smooth platinum wedding band adorning it. "Unless you were planning on joining the mile-high club as well… I think the stewardess is on to us though."

"Down, girl," he smirked and shook his head at her impetuous spirit. Despite the fact that they were both lifelong New Yorkers, the two had spent the day feeling more like a pair of lovestruck newlywed tourists as they wandered around the city for the afternoon while taking in some of the typical landmarks and purchasing a few more essential items for Eddie's northern wardrobe to go with some of her own warmer things from home that Jamie had knowingly included in his own suitcases which had been picked up after their checkout by a car scheduled to retrieve them later after their afternoon jaunt and deliver them to the airport. Now they were really on the plane and in the air on their way to their Nordic destination of 'unspoilt nature, breathtaking landscapes and vibrant culture'… at least that's what the travel magazine said as Jamie occupied himself since he was far too excited to sleep.

If he had known what the fates held in store for him and his adored little sleeping lovebird over the course of the next few days, weeks and months, Jamieson Reagan would have had many other things to think about and consider... and more than one truth that would have kept him awake all night.

###

Day 1: 9:45 am Monday  
Blue Lagoon Spa, Grindavík

"Oh my God, is this place really real?" Eddie's eyes popped as she took in the steam rising from the milky blue waters of the Blue Lagoon Spa with the black lava fields covered in snow evident around them. After a short ride from the airport where they were met by a private chauffeur, the pair had showered and changed after arriving and now joined each other outside for a healing bath in one of the warm geothermal pools amid a spectacular winteresque landscape. "Jamie, this is just…"

"Breathtaking," he answered with wide eyes that were more focused on a particular promised bikini and the treasures it barely contained than the other sights around him at the moment.

"Down, boy," she chided with a beaming and satisfied smile. "Pace yourself. I don't think that's allowed here either, sport," although he could not help but slip behind to cradle and nuzzle her with a few kisses as they floated out towards the center of the pool together. "What makes it so blue?" she wondered as she relaxed in his arms.

"The sky," he answered in his official capacity as the appointed tour guide for the trip. "The water actually comes from more than 2,000 meters below the surface where freshwater and seawater combine at high temperatures. A geothermal plant drills for it and uses the steam to make electricity and hot water for the community then pumps the cooler remains over here. The water is actually white from the silica, algae and minerals, but it looks blue to our eyes from the reflection of the sun and sky."

"So beautiful," Eddie murmured as they bathed in the warm water while the air temperatures hovered seasonably in the mid-forties. "I have to be honest, lambchop… when we turned around in church and I heard those words come out of your mouth to let me know we were going to Iceland instead of someplace warm for our honeymoon, I was ready to turn around and demand a do-over, but this… I could stay here the whole time. Can we do that? What's on tap for the rest of the day and how are we affording all of this after the wedding?" she wondered as he continued to hold most of the itinerary close to the vest, insisting that she be surprised throughout the week. "You're not on the take at work are you?"

"No, silly," he replied and then laughed at the continuing anti-Addie twitches that invariably popped up at that word. "It was actually more reasonable than some of the places you were looking at," he added. "Plus we saved having the ceremony at Tom and Lillian's… they wouldn't take a penny for anything as long as we took care other the other expenses. I used some of the retainer from Sevinnova, too, and they've actually been keeping me kinda busy with work on the side. We're fine," he assured. "This is our trip of a lifetime… I wasn't going to scrimp for once… and for you, after lunch you're all booked for an in-water massage right over there, complete with a scrub and wrap for 'two hours of rejuvenating wonder: a cleansing, nourishing, strengthening, revitalizing experience' while I just float around and watch," he quoted from the little guidebook in his brain. "After that we go to the hotel in downtown Reykjavík where there will be champagne and chocolate from 'Iceland's finest chocolatier' waiting for us. This evening we can explore the city and eat at Ostabudin, one of Reykjaveík's most exclusive restaurants. They have a dessert called skyr mousse that has your name written all over it. Nothing but the best for you, Mrs. Reagan."

"Don't get me wrong, I love that you're pampering me like this… and skyr mousse, whoa, is it chocolate too? Whatever… that does sound fabulous," she allowed herself to be distracted momentarily with that thought before getting back to her point. "But I hate the fact you felt like you needed to take a second job as a lawyer to support us," Eddie admitted as she turned over for a serious searching look in his eyes. "Jamie, you love being a cop and you'll be moving up through the department now that you've got your stripes. I've got a rabbi in the 12th now to work on getting my gold badge. That sergeant's test isn't my thing and patrol's not the same without you and Wilson around for partners all the time," she revealed a little sadly at that lost connection of her two favorite carmates. "I wanna try to make detective this year instead, and I don't want to see you working so much we can't enjoy other regular stuff. It's only going to get worse as Kaylin gets older."

"Skyr mousse is like cheesecake served with blueberries, cream and caramel. Besides, I'm just reviewing corporate contracts mostly from home at night after Kaylin goes to bed or on my days off," he reminded. "It's not like I'm out in a suit in a courtroom or travelling all the time. For now it's what I need to do to make sure that you and sweetness are provided for… plus the house, her schooling… someday maybe another baby when we're ready…"

"Yeah well, that won't be for a while, Reagan," she relented and turned on her back once more to float above him, satisfied with the knowledge that he was at peace with his decision to return to law, even if it was part-time, and that there were no longer any nefarious fears about their safety driving him towards it. "Obviously, it won't be easy for me to get a promotion now either with Reagan as my last name, but I really want to try for that before we decide to do anything else. I know your family expects something different, but I think we should enjoy this time with Kaylin when she's still little… at least the next year or so, then we can see where we're at and talk about another baby."

"I'm good with that plan," Jamie murmured as he paddled them around with a contented sigh. "Right now I'm just interested in enjoying you," he emphasized as his hands slipped down to caress her underwater. "I'll just have to stock up on a few things so we're careful until then, especially when you look like this."

###

7:30 pm  
Ostabudin Restaurant, Reykjavík

"Wow, this is _so mm hmm_ good... try some, Reagan," Eddie insisted as she basically inhaled the rest of her scrumptious dessert when he declined with a smirk to stir his coffee. Getting between her and that cheesecake would be akin to stepping between Bear and his tuna bowl... and well, given the results with Quinlan, everyone knew not to go there.

"I've got to watch my figure," he replied while wondering how things were going for the cat who was also on an extended sleepover at Grandpa's house to keep his favorite toddler company. Although they were able to talk to her several times a day, he found himself missing that sweet little girl more than he could have imagined and felt guilty once again about those days they had spent apart from Eddie under threat to leave for California. "Not all of us have the metabolism of a D1 football-playing frat boy," he reminded as he considered the fact that his will needed to be updated since he had a wife to consider now and a child who had already been through the loss of two parents.

"Oh c'mon, you had a salad and fish, bunny boy," Eddie chided, unaware of where his mind was at the moment. "Live it up for once."

"Goose meat salad, the paté, poached Arctic Char with basil-tarragon mayonnaise," Jamie offered in return. "Hardly diet fare. This keeps up and I'm never gonna be able to run in that St. Jude marathon next spring," he admitted as he thought about his rookie new partner's obsession with taking a group of officers to Tennessee in late April to represent the NYPD in the benefit for the children's cancer center. "Annabel has a training schedule posted for all the guys back at the 3-5 starting this week. I'm gonna fall behind on my times after this and she'll send her pop out to chase after me again in that old truck of his."

"Puhlease!" came the expected return as Eddie considered this new energetic redheaded addition to their professional family. "You rode with her for one week so far and she already has half your platoon promising to run a marathon," she sighed. "Those guys, seriously? What? Is she gonna be up for Commissioner by the time she's thirty?" she huffed with a little unconcealed envy as even her own bubbly personality would have failed to convince any of those officers to do the same, well maybe with the exception of their sergeant sitting before her.

Jamie grinned as he considered the force that was Annabel Anderson, his handpicked rookie from the latest Academy graduating class… thirty was pushing it, but forty… he wouldn't put anything past this little fireball of enthusiasm. "Why Edit Katalin, is that a little jealousy I hear in your voice? I thought you'd be happy I have a partner who can run down perps faster than me for a change," he baited while watching in anticipation for that little twitch he had come to expect and adore… perhaps Addie would be off the hook soon. He smiled when he wasn't disappointed.

"Humph," she huffed and pursed her lips before breaking out in a laugh. "You just wait, Jamison Reagan… one day I'm gonna be able to beat you in a fair race. Those rabbit legs of yours won't last forever no matter how much salad you eat. Remember, you're older than me and tend to be a target for trouble. Now what do we get to do tomorrow?" she asked without realizing how true those words would ring in just a few more months. "Hopefully, there's some physical activity to go with all this scrumptious yummy yum food or I'm the one that's gonna go home looking like one of those whales we saw out in the bay this afternoon."

"Tomorrow's the big day!" Jamie admitted with hardly contained excitement. "We take the car and drive 150 kilometers out to Snæfellsjökull National Park on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. In the morning we can go hiking and birdwatching around the Snæfelsjökull glacier… it's believed by many to be one of Earth's seven major energy centres and was the backdrop to Jules Verne's famous novel "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" among others," he added in near perfect Nordic inflection. "Oh, Eddie isn't that great? Then in the afternoon we take the schooner 'Hilda' out for our sail around the point on Breiðafjörður Bay and if we're lucky, we might be able to see some seals by the coastline under the glacier. Then at night we stay all by ourselves in a remote little cottage by the ocean near Stykkishólmur… it has a real fireplace and two-story floor-to-ceiling windows so we can watch the Northern Lights! I can't wait, lambchop!" he added as he was practically vibrating with excitement now as his life's quest was finally within reach.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a clue as to what you just said," Eddie admitted with a laugh as she was finding the Icelandic dialect miles beyond her comprehension and speech capabilities in spite of her mother's Hungarian roots and her own Serbian language skills. "All I got out of that was car, drive, Snuffleupagus and glacier... oh, and sailboat!" she nodded. "'Nuff said, Mr. Reagan. I'm sure it's gonna be the best day of the whole trip!"

* * *

 _Oh, if that were only so for our little honeymooning Jamko lovebirds. Of course the readers who have already finished the last few chapters of "It's all in the name…" know exactly what comes of their somewhat off-scripted afternoon on the water and follow up evening in that little cottage, but the truth will not be revealed to our pair until nearly a month from this point as one moment in time will decidedly change the course of their lives together including the plans they had agreed to that very afternoon. This will all set us up for the action in "Resurgence," the third installment in the second series. Next up tomorrow, Honeymoon (Part II), picks up the following day to walk us through that little misadventure._


	13. The Honeymoon (Part II)

Chapter 13

The Honeymoon (Part II)

 _Well, suffice to say Jamie's dream ocean sailboat outing on the wooden schooner 'Hilda' leaves a little to be desired as a bit of an unexpected storm kicks up off the coast that afternoon and the resulting chop has Eddie tossing her cookies over the railing to use their term for Kaylin before another unfortunate (or rather fortunate) event strands the rain-soaked pair in a cold, dark cottage with only a fire and a bottle of tequila to keep them warm for the night… what will our newlyweds do to pass the time, hm?_

* * *

DAY 2: 7:45 pm Tuesday  
Near the town of Stykkishólmur by Breiðafjörður Bay

"Jamison Reagan, that had to have been the worst three hours I've ever spent on vacation in my _entire_ life!" Eddie griped as they bumped along an uneven back road north of the town of Stykkishólmur in search of their oceanfront cottage overnight lodging in the cold pouring rain and a heavy windstorm that had swept in unannounced and made for a rather adventurous return trip around the point in Jamie's beloved damn wooden sailboat as they both got a good taste of the worst of Mother Nature's wrath on his quest for maritime glory and fulfillment.

"I know, babe… and I'm so sorry you got seasick," he apologized for the hundredth time even as he strained his eyes trying to make out the numbers on the driveway markers while determined to remain on the road as the Land Rover Defender's windshield wipers whipped at top speed during a renewed deluge. "It has to be here somewhere, the GPS says we're right on top of it…" he trailed off before a sudden shout had him slamming on the brakes and sliding sideways a few feet.

"Jamie, STOP!"

"God, Ed… please don't do that," he begged softly as he caught his breath. "I could have put us into that ditch. What is it? Are you sick? Because I really don't think you want to get out and throw up in the bushes again if you can help it… not until this passes."

"It's not that, genius," Eddie huffed as she rolled him an evil eye at the mention of her tummy woes. "That sign… 112 Nesvegur, isn't that what we're looking for? Now where is the damn driveway?" she demanded as she squinted into the darkness.

"Should be right there then," Jamie mused as he double-checked his paperwork and turned the car around to illuminate the area with the headlights. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me," he sighed.

"What? What's the matter?" his frustrated wife demanded as she looked at the apparent unbroken line of bushes ahead and was clearly less than amused by the direction the afternoon had taken after a very pleasurable morning hiking through the stunningly beautiful park near the glacier. Everything had been perfect as a matter of fact, right up until the wind had picked up midway through their sailboat tour when the crew turned the craft around to head towards home and the bay had become choppy with small whitecaps and rollers as the sea grew restless. It was at that point Eddie's slightly queasy stomach had given way to a full bout of unrelenting seasickness which resonated with intensity long after the cherished wooden schooner 'Hilda' had finally pulled back into port and she had disembarked for solid ground at warp speed while Jamie apologized to the crew and followed sheepishly after her, all hope lost for the once much anticipated evening to come even before the full-on storm struck and left them stranded in their current predicament.

"That _is_ the driveway," Jamie revealed with a frown. "Look, honey, that big pine tree's come down across it, which is unbelievably bad luck really since there's so few trees of any size on the whole island…"

"So what are we going to do now?" she wailed back as he once again considered that whole for better or worse implied aspect of the vows they had just taken a few days before. "Maybe we should just take the car back to town and find a room there."

"Ed, it's dark and stormy… the tour offices are probably closed by now and it will just make our drive that much longer tomorrow," Jamie reasoned. "We were already looking at 320 kilometers to get to our next destination and I don't feel like calling their emergency line to drag someone else out here in this weather. Look, I can see the house on the map they gave us, it's right down the lane a few hundred yards or so. We'll just grab a bag and those sandwiches we picked up since you weren't feeling like dinner earlier and hike in. We can leave the car here and we'll be on our way to the Valley of Skagafjörður in the morning… you can take a dip in the hot pool Grettislaug at the beach in Reykjanesströnd, sweetie," he cajoled as he hyped a thus far favored activity. "What do you say? The storm is supposed to be over soon and I bet the Northern Lights will be spectacular tonight once the clouds blow over. The captain said that this was just one of those freak fronts that come in off the Atlantic every so often… there's no real way of predicting them. I checked the forecast right before we left and it was supposed to be all clear. I know we had a little bit of a setback today, but let's not miss this."

"A 'little setback'? That's what you call it? So what, we just sit here in the car and wait all night? Are you kidding me?" she huffed impatiently with a bit of claustrophobia also welling up as her stomach continued to roll dangerously and the rain pounded against the windshield. "Give me the keys then! I'm going up there."

"What? No… in this? You'll get soaked and freezing cold!" Jamie exclaimed. "Honey, just give it a few minutes to slow down," he offered as he pulled the car into the drive as close to the tree as possible to get it off the road. "Please, Ed!"

"Don't say it, Jamie. Just don't even utter one more single solitary word," she said as she turned away from him and searched for the door handle in the unfamiliar vehicle. "I hate being sick, I hate this storm and I hate boats!" she seethed.

"I know, sweetheart," he offered anyway, pausing to give thanks his name had not yet officially made it on that list as he reached over to put a hand on her shoulder and watched the prospect of any extracurricular activities vanish before his eyes. "I just need a minute to get some of our stuff out of the back though. We can't go up there without anything. Can you wait a few seconds, dear... please?" he added as he scrambled out of the driver's side and hurried to the rear to open the tailgate and root through their suitcases to pull out a few necessities and stuff them into his hiking knapsack, including in desperation, a full bottle of tequila they had purchased on a whim at the duty free shop on the way out of the airport.

Eddie seriously considered hitting the locks once his door closed just to strand him out there and reinforce the notion that she was unhappy about the situation, but decided that would be slightly over the top and probably just prolong this whole wretched experience. She wanted to get out of the car and into that house… now.

As soon as he closed up the back, she was out of her side of the vehicle and marching around the downed tree while he hovered behind trying to fend the water off of her in a gentlemanly manner by holding his coat over her head since an umbrella would have been useless in the wind. It was for naught though as they were both already completely soaked through by the driving cold rain at that point and she paused to demonstrate her frustration with a good swift kick to the trunk of the matching pine that remained standing alongside the lane.

"Oh, no!" Eddie wailed as she stumbled immediately afterwards and he desperately clutched her arm to keep her from falling while trying not to drop the flashlight. "I broke my heel! And these are my very most favorite cutest boots!" she cried out to all that would hear as she continued to hobble along on her now uneven footwear.

"I'll buy you another pair," Jamie promised with a heavy contrite sigh although he found his own patience wearing thin as he grew colder and more uncomfortable himself, not to mention he was now thoroughly disappointed with the afternoon he had been looking forward to with great expectation for months. "Let's just get to the house, Edit Katalin," he added bluntly as he helped her up the path until they got to the porch where his shivering, fumbling fingers finally managed successfully to insert the provided key and unlock the door to the quaint little cottage with a rustic decor and a centered two-story great room with floor to ceiling windows providing an unfettered view of the ocean and the northern sky. Without a doubt, on a clear day the view from this place would have been truly spectacular, but at the moment the pair of wet, freezing lovebirds were only concerned with the fact that their feathers were soaked and there was apparently no electric or other form of heat readily available either.

"Jamie, it's s-so c-cold-d in h-here," Eddie shivered. "W-what h-happ-ned t-to t-the l-lights?"

"S-storm must h-have t-taken down the l-line," he answered as he flashed his beam around and set the knapsack down on the counter. "There's s-some blankets on t-the couch and d-dry w-wood. Get out of y-your w-wet clothes and I'll s-start a fire."

Instead of insisting that they go out in the elements again to return to the car and leave out of fear of driving off the road in an unfamiliar remote area near the ocean in the dark and rain, Eddie relented after she took one more look at her despondent husband and started to strip off her wet sweater and jeans while Jamie channeled his inner Eagle Scout with a pack of waterproof matches stored for just such an occasion in his sack and soon had a warm blaze glowing within a strategic pile of kindling before sinking down to sit with his back to the thankfully now growing fire as he closed his eyes with his head in his hands and admitted defeat. This afternoon and evening had turned into a complete and utter abhorrent failure.

"Jamie," Eddie softened as she joined him for a seat near the warmth on the low stone hearth, wrapped only in a soft blanket over her wet delicates. The nausea had started to quickly to pass from her normally stalwart stomach now that she was standing firmly on unmoving ground once more, and she felt more than a twinge of guilt for her actions which had left him so deflated with those damn sad puppy eyes on full display. "C'mon, lambchop, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I know none of this was your fault and the whole day including the boat ride was actually amazing too until the weather turned. I was just really embarrassed at getting sick like that in front of everyone and got upset… you know me, I can usually outdrink and outeat everyone else under the table. I never had that happen to me before. Please, baby… you're still dripping and freezing. Get these wet clothes off or you'll catch cold," she added as his teeth continued to chatter in spite of the heat now radiating on his back.

"Maybe you were right, Ed," he sighed. "I don't do well in the w-winter anymore and it w-was stupid of me to pick a place that's cold and m-make plans like this without consulting you," although he ended with a little pitiful snicker at that ironic statement which broke the tension between them.

"Har, har, har… such a funny man, now stop it," she demanded as she scootched over and began to unbutton his soaked Henley in an effort to get him to comply with her previous order. "I've been having a wonderful time so far on this trip and it's actually kind of romantic to be stranded out in Timbuktu with you like this by a fire you know… with no one else around to see this," she breathed as she moved closer to kiss his neck as she worked her way slowly down the shirt to the fourth button before pausing to lift it up from the waist and pull it over his head, revealing yet another black t-shirt that was quickly offed in the same manner until she had peeled her way to a smooth, muscled chest topped by shining hazel eyes and a head of tousled wet sandy-brown hair.

"Edit Katalin," he moaned as she moved in front to kneel before him while her unbuttoning efforts turned to his jeans and she allowed the soft blanket to slip from her shoulders to the floor, revealing the pretty pink lace bra and panty set she had hoped would spark his attention tonight in this manner. "You are so beautiful," he whispered as he nudged the thin straps over so they fell off her shoulders.

"And you still look mighty cold, Mr. Reagan," she smirked as her hands continued to roam knowingly and remove things in a methodical fashion before they both ended up laying on that soft blanket on the floor in front of the fire with nothing between them. "Too bad we don't have any scotch for a hot toddy to warm you up from the inside first. You're not quite at full strength there, handsome."

"Mmm, why don't you take care of that for me?" he sighed with a rusty laugh as they continued to touch and caress while the skies above the cottage quickly cleared as the remainder of clouds from the storm front blew past, revealing a stunning display of the Northern Lights above them as the power outage had extinguished all artificial light pollution from the entire point and the dark night exploded in dazzling hues of phosphorescent blues, greens and pinks of the Aurora Borealis, even as they remained completely focused with only eyes for each other. "Boy scout motto… always be prepared. That bottle of tequila is in my bag," he revealed as he rolled on top of her and his tongue parted her lips and anxiously demanded more.

"Jamie, I think you need to get…" Eddie started to remind him about something important as he began to move his way down her body and she opened her eyes to catch a glimpse of the sight above them. "LOOK!" she exclaimed as she pushed his shoulders up and pointed. "Oh wow… just WOW! I have never seen anything so beautiful before in my whole life!"

"God, that's fantastic," he murmured as he stopped and moved over to the side before drawing her into his arms, the two of them mesmerized by the incredible streaks of illumination crossing the sky above them. "Ed, it's like something you would see in a dream," he whispered as if afraid to disturb the universe at that perfect moment.

"How long do they last?"

"The guidebook says anywhere from a few minutes to 'nights when they dance in the skies for hours like magic,'" he revealed in a still hushed and thoroughly awed voice.

"Oh, I hope they stay for a long time," she breathed as the bright colors shifted across the horizon and mixed with the stars. "Wait, we need something to celebrate with!" she declared before quickly popping up and running to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle from his bag and she squealed in triumph as she hit pay dirt in one of the cabinets with a pair of mismatched glasses that were wiped out before a generous quantity of fine tequila was poured into both after the seal was cracked.

"I thought your stomach was bothering you?" Jamie inquired as she snuggled back up next to him once more and they continued to enjoy the nighttime exhibition.

"Not anymore," she replied as the two continued to bask in the warmth of the fire and the romance of the scenery before them. "This is good stuff," she added as the clear liquid went down smoothly, especially given the circumstances.

By the time the lights above faded after an extended offering of the natural phenomenon, the bottle next to them had taken a significant hit before they once more turned to one another in passion while in front of the fire, and this time nothing came between them as they were both distracted by the liquor and events of the day. Neither one had any idea at this point in time that this extraordinary night would be memorable for more than one reason. By the time morning rolled around Eddie was still smiling with satisfaction as she hurried to clean up before they left. Even though there was only a tiny bit of tequila left in the bottle, she put the cap back on and tucked it back into his bag, anyway. "That was some damn fine stuff," she muttered.

Little did she know what kind of impact it would have on all of their lives as a tiny presence was already with them who would serve to provide joy, worry, heartache and much-needed hope in the coming months before officially joining the Reagan family in a hurried rush much like a certain young father before.

* * *

 _So as we all know from those last couple of chapters of "It's all in the name…" our current little trio of lovebirds will become aware of this new addition to their family in about a month from now, but in the meantime for the last chapter we'll spend another few days on the honeymoon exploring Iceland, including the hunt for a renowned monster before a Sunday dinner at home finally wraps up all the wedding events in this series._


	14. The Honeymoon (Part III)

Chapter 14

The Honeymoon (Part III)

 _Well, after that happy little evening spent under the Northern Lights and a few blankets, our newly married couple now plus sprout continue on during their trip to visit a few more of the most memorable sites before returning home for the inevitable family discussion that will follow as we officially wrap up the wedding events in this second series._

* * *

DAY 3: 2:30 pm Wednesday  
Near the Valley of Skagafjörður

"Edit Katalin, if we stay in this water any longer I'm gonna be taking a prune back to the hotel with me tonight," Jamie chided as he tried to entice his wife to exit the natural hot pool of Grettislaug on the beautiful Reykjanesströnd beach. The private, peaceful location offered a picturesque view of the North Sea on one side and snow covered fjords on the other. "How about if we get going now and check out the other part of the valley for a few hours?"

"Mmm… if my other option for the afternoon is to try riding one of those famous furry Icelandic horses down a cliff on the side of the glacier, then the answer is definitely no," she balked once more as she floated by on her back with a happy smile on her face. "You know how I am with animals, Jamison," she reminded.

"This could be your chance… they're supposed to be 'friendly and sure-footed purebreds since settlement times,'" he reminded.

"No _pe,"_ was the answer with particular emphasis on the second syllable. "Let's stay here. Tell me more about this place," she demanded, knowing her walking, living, breathing and quite sexy historical guidebook would have an answer for that and his little almost involuntary rendition of facts would give her more time to soak in this wonderful location.

"Grettislaug is where Grettir the Strong, one of Iceland's most notorious outlaws in the Saga Age supposedly bathed after swimming from Drangey shortly after 1000 AD," he revealed with a smirk, knowing full well that she was playing him in an effort to stay put at her favored activity of the trip… well maybe second-most favorite he grinned considering the events of the night before while continuing with his little history lesson.

"The Sagas of Icelanders… Íslendingasögur… were written in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries and are fairly realistic accounts of events, usually conflicts over wealth, prestige, and power taking place between the ninth and the eleventh century on the island. The account of Grettir Ásmundarson's life was likely based on a previous work by Sturla Þórðarson."

"Ooh, so he really was an outlaw," Eddie mused as she latched onto that little tidbit and proceeded to do a relaxed backstroke in a circle around him. "I feel a little dirty now…" she teased.

"Grettir's intentions were not necessarily bad, but he was bad-tempered and often did things that he later regretted even though at times he was thought of as a proper hero," Jamie added with a laugh and shake of his head at her continued taunting which frankly he couldn't get enough of.

"Hmm, are you sure your family doesn't have any Nordic blood?" she asked with a cheeky grin. "Because I've gotta admit I'm picturing Danny standing there in one of those puffy red heavy velvet onesies with tights and a sword and shield getting ready to slay a dragon or something."

"Well, thank you for that... there's another image I'll never get out of my brain," Jamie admitted with a frown as he paddled over, carefully inspecting the view of her in yet another new swimsuit that he did intend to keep front and center in his mind. "Now, sweetheart, will you please agree to get out if I tell you there are more thermal baths where we are going tomorrow?"

"And where exactly _is_ that, O Great Master of the Grand Plan?" she inquired as he continued to surprise her with the next day's itinerary while the rest of the trip was still held as a closely guarded secret to add to the adventure.

"Tomorrow we drive to Akureyri, the 'friendly capital of north Iceland' situated in Eyjafjörður. There are museums and cafés to explore before we visit Goðafoss… the waterfall of the Gods... on our way to Lake Mývatn which is 'beautifully located in an area of surreal landscape, bubbling hot springs, moon-like pseudo craters and hot pools,'" he quoted once more. "We can see the sizzling mud-pots at Námafjall, the craters at Skútustaðir, the lava maze Dimmuborgir or visit the Krafla volcanic region… your choice," he added.

"Oh, it all sounds so nice," she pondered. "Wait! Where are those thermal baths? Is that at the lake? That's my choice!" she kidded as she splashed a bit of water at him. "I love this place!" she exclaimed. "Who knew I would have so much fun swimming next to glaciers and driving around over an ice-covered volcano," Eddie wondered.

"I did," Jamie admitted with a smile as he considered the now locked-in steakhouse bets he had placed with Danny and his grandfather back in New York.

###

DAY 6: 1:20 pm Saturday  
Near Egilsstaðir and the Lagarfljót River Basin

The couple next spent two days hiking and exploring the region near Lake Mývatn, including the natural phenomena of Jökulsárgljúfur where eight thousand years ago a volcanic eruption directly underneath the river and glacial ice left a chaotically formed canyon and volcanic formations with interesting colors including the 'rock of echoes' Hljóðaklettar and the 'red mountain' Rauðhólar. They also explored the horseshoe canyon Ásbyrgi and the most powerful waterfall in Europe, Dettifoss. Afterwards, Jamie and Eddie found themselves on the road once more driving towards the tranquil fjords near Berufjörður. A few hours of sightseeing at Mount Búlandstindur occupied their late morning before, and unknown to a certain blond someone, they headed directly into the renowned monster-habitat of the Lagarfljót River Basin.

"Alright, Reagan… so what exactly are we looking for _here?"_ Eddie finally puzzled after they got out of the car and hiked for nearly an hour next to a cold-looking barren lake with murky water and a dark, rough sandy shore before circling back towards the vehicle. There certainly didn't appear to be any of her favored hot springs nearby and this locale wasn't even on the same scale when compared to the exquisite sights they had taken in during the past few days, especially the magnificent waterfalls and volcanic landscapes.

"The Lagarfljótsormur," he finally revealed in a mysterious deep voice as he scanned the quiet surface of the water with his binoculars. "It's a cryptid," he added as if that should have explained everything.

"Lager-float-so- _what?"_ she demanded as a little shiver went up her spine and she looked around nervously. It was a cloudy early afternoon without even the slightest hint of air moving which made the whole environment look flat and one-dimensional as the sky, mountains and water reflected in gray, adding to her unease. "English, Harvard!"

"The Lagarfljót worm… better known as the Icelandic Worm Monster," he explained and laughed when her expected shriek echoed forth across the water as she jumped onto his back and held on in tight piggyback fashion with her legs wrapped around so her feet no longer touched the ground as if she expected the mythical beast to appear with just the mere mention of its name.

"THE WHAT?!"

"A serpentine creature said to live here in the freshwater below-sea-level lake Lagarfljót, which has very poor visibility as a result of siltation from the river. It's supposed to be longer than a bus with many humps on its back, and has also been reported outside the water... lying coiled up or slithering into the trees," he added in a sinister inflection with evil intent before her grip tightened around his throat, nearly cutting off his airway.

"JAMISON REAGAN, ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" she screeched. "We've only been married a week and you're ready to sacrifice me to some slithering creature?! Get us out of here!" she demanded. "You know I hate worms, especially monster-sized ones!"

"Never stopped you from getting to the bottom of a tequila bottle," he choked out as she continued to cling to him for all she was worth. "I need air, Janko," he gasped. "Or I'm gonna drop you in the water and let him come for you!" he threatened with a laugh when she granted him that mercy as he finally relented and carried her up the slope towards the car.

"Is there really a Loch Nessie wormy thingie living in there?" she asked when she finally felt secure enough to look around and touch ground once they were several hundred feet away from the water and on firm high open land near the vehicle.

"Depends who you believe," he offered. "Sightings have been logged since 1345 and continue into the 21st century, including a 2012 video supposedly showing the creature swimming. There's a folk tradition about a little girl growing a dragon from a lingworm and a gold ring. According to the legend she threw it in the lake when it started to frighten her and it continued to get bigger and wound up terrorizing the countryside, eating people and animals while spitting poison."

"Well, for the love of all that's holy… please don't share that super cutsie bedtime story with your baby girl when we get home or she'll refuse to take a bath for a month!" Eddie griped as she sat back against the car. "I miss her, Jamie," she added quietly as her eyes got glassy and an overwhelmingly intense feeling of homesickness for the little one washed over her.

"Hey, oh baby don't cry! I miss our sweetness too," he admitted as he hugged her, neither realizing at this time that there perhaps was another important hormonal factor coming into play behind her strong maternal feelings. "What are you getting all emotional like that for? Huh? That's not like you and now you've got me going. We've talked to Kaylin every single day and video chat if we can… you know she's having a blast ruling the roost with her grandpas. They're spoiling her rotten. We'll be lucky to talk her into moving home and giving up her job at 1PP when we get back," he laughed. "Dad says she's demanding a desk next to Baker's."

"I bet Garrett just loves that," Eddie griped with a sniff of disdain as the perceived snub a certain DCPI's absence at the wedding still left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Eddie, let that go," Jamie warned as he continued to hold her close. "It's between Dad and him… it really has nothing to do with the two of us or Kaylin, okay? They'll either work it out or Garrett will move on, but it's not our concern either way. What we do have to be worried about is finding something special to take home for our little ducky and souvenirs for everyone else in the family. We're supposed to spend the rest of the day exploring the little seaside fishing villages between here and Djúpivogur. Maybe we should rent a couple of poles and see if we can catch our dinner? Tonight we are eating at the Hótel Framtíð which 'offers a robust menu of locally sourced seafood, homemade bread, desserts, wines and fresh local vegetables,'" he hyped. "Mussels and fresh lobster are high on travelers' favorite lists."

"Great, more seafood," Eddie sighed as they finally broke apart and prepared to leave. "I feel like I'm about to sprout gills, Reagan. Guess it's better than eating a reindeer for red meat though… those are kind of cute and fuzzy," she admitted as they'd had to stop the car several times already to watch as the majestic creatures crossed the road in small wandering herds. "But I'm getting a real hankering for steak."

"Honey, you just enjoy the rest of this trip, and I promise you when we get back to New York I will take you out for the best steak dinner of your life… or even two of them," Jamie added with a wry smile, safe in the knowledge that the bets with Danny and his grandfather were surely as good as money in the bank at this point as this trip had truly been exceptional, even with the little blip of seasickness on the radar.

"Okay if you say so. Maybe I'll try my hand at fishing, but I surely won't touch any worms to put on the hook now!" she called after him as he got in the driver's seat with a laugh, ready to pilot them to their next destination.

###

Sunday the following week  
Bay Ridge, NY

"So Aunt Eddie… wow, isn't it cool that I get to officially call you that now?!" Nicki laughed after thanking them for her gift of a pretty lava stone adorned bracelet as Jamie distributed the carefully chosen souvenirs they brought back for everyone. "What did you do on the last couple of days of the trip, when you were in the southern part of the island? Was it warmer there? Did you bring anything interesting home with you?" she questioned as the entire Reagan family was gathered once more for a regular Sunday dinner, this time back in the normal locale at Frank's house where the discussion had of course centered on the newlywed's honeymoon tour around Iceland.

"Oh, the last three days we saw some of the most beautiful places on the whole trip," Eddie revealed, not even guessing at that moment they had indeed brought something special home from their week abroad and there was another tiny Reagan with them partaking in a very first family dinner at that precise moment. "I can actually pronounce some of those names," she laughed. "We went to the Glacial Lagoon…"

"Jökulsárlón," Jamie filled in obsessively in perfect inflection.

"Right," Eddie smirked without even trying to conceal the roll of her eyes. "There were real icebergs floating on the lake there and we hiked around the glacier on the trails by Skaf-ta-fell," she enunciated the easier word cleanly and deliberately. "Including one to the waterfall Svartifoss, which drops more than sixty feet from the edge of a wide cliff of black basalt columns."

"That night we stayed in Kirkjubæjarklaustur," Jamie added with a self-righteous smile, knowing that his glowing bride was not even going to attempt that one but he was proud of her for the other efforts.

"Oh, God… was he like that on the whole trip?" Danny grimaced as he imagined his little brother spouting facts and history in ultimate tour guide mode. "I would have shoved him off one of those cliffs by that point, and what's with this book about the 'Saga of Grettir the Strong'… I'm supposed to read about some fat guy in a red velvet tutu with a sword and shield? Maybe this was for Jack? I'd rather have the booze that Pop got," he insinuated as his oldest son had also received several adventurous sailing books.

"Uncle Danny, not nice!" Kaylin tattled as she clutched her promised and now treasured big stuffed puffin ducky bird… one of the many presents her parents had brought back for her. "Mommy says it's bad to push people! That would ouch!"

"Yeah, D-a-n-i-e-l… out of the mouths of babes," Jamie drawled out with a smirk on his face as he remembered the infamous trip down the steps at Grandma's house and resultant opposite end boo-boos for both brothers. "Falling down _would_ ouch, especially if there was something like a rake in the way."

"Keep it civil," Frank interjected as he paged carefully through the beautiful leather-bound hardcover coffee-table book with exquisite photos of the entire fleet of restored wooden sailing vessels while he sought to keep the conversation from going off the rails in front of his little granddaughter, and he in no way wanted to revisit that particular gem of a parental nightmare again. "These views of the sea and cliffs are utterly fantastic. What else did you see?"

"Well the drive along the southern coast for the last few days was mostly more of that," Eddie admitted. "Lots of hiking through gorgeous parks with waterfalls. We were even able to walk behind the water of the one at Selja… Selja-lands-foss… which was really cool. The last afternoon before we got back to Reykjavík we spent in the Geysir area with tons of spouting geysers and all these bubbling hot springs with different colors in the lava fields. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life," she admitted. "I can't believe how much I miss it already."

"So what was your favorite part of the trip?" Linda asked with interest as she fingered the beautiful volcanic rock necklace she had received.

"Oh," Eddie blushed instantly and involuntarily as her mind went immediately to one thing. "I, um… well, I really liked the night we spent in the cottage by the ocean where we watched the Northern Lights," she admitted truthfully with a nervous glance towards Jamie, omitting certain private details of course and hoping to leave it at that.

Erin was quick to pick up on her sister-in-law's little stutter of embarrassment though as she admired the lovely wool blanket in her gift box, and of course it was Reagan tradition to capitalize on all moments of weakness, plus as an official member of the family now Eddie would no longer be spared. "I thought Jamie told me your car was stuck out by the road in a rainstorm and the place was without electric that night," she prodded with mischievous intent. "And you both got soaked and had to warm up and dry off in front of a fireplace…"

" _Oooh,"_ came the all-knowing peanut gallery commentary from the entire table with the exception of Sean who had put on his new wool beanie cap to display.

"I still don't get it," he grumped as he always did when something like that went over his head.

"Yeah, but I bet your Uncle Jamie did," Henry chuckled once more as he pushed his new bottle of Brennivin Hard Liquor over towards Jamie and Eddie who were both glowing bright red with that revelation which thankfully had apparently stayed above the radar for Kaylin as well. "Perhaps you need a hit of this, kids," he advised. "Says here the alcohol content of Iceland's signature drink is strong enough to make whoever tastes the "black death" remember the experience for years to come."

"That's what got us in trouble in the first place," Jamie muttered under his breath as he finally broke down and laughed along with everyone else before admitting prophetically as he reached for Eddie's hand.

"I'm sure we'll remember that night for the rest of our lives."

* * *

 _So there you have it, the detailed story of the honeymoon and the big oopsie that resulted from it which will have Eddie considering old Norse names for the little bean before that notion gets shot down as Týlaugr Vincent or Hiálmgerðr Margaret Reagan just won't fly in their Irish Catholic household. I can't wait to visit Iceland myself next year as this research has definitely sparked interest in a trip for hubby and me!_

 _For the next three-part multi-shot to post starting on Monday, we move forward to the occasion of Eddie's first doctor appointment which will confirm the presence of the little hitchhiking bean(s) to an exceptionally nervous Jamie and also start some debate between Linda and Danny regarding their family's future and the potential of a new addition for them as well. Written specifically because of all of the requests received towards the end of "It's all in the name..." but as always in my "werks" of course, it won't be as simple as that for our older pair of lovebirds! It wouldn't be fair!  
_


	15. Magic Beans (Part I)

Magic Beans (Part I)

 _Another triple-shot set starting Monday, a week following the great baby birthday reveal. In part one, Jamie and Eddie face their first round of parental angst over the appearance of the new bean(s) as an ultrasound at the doctor's office offers a glimpse at their future while setting a few events in motion that will influence the shape and makeup of the Reagan family's youngest generation._

* * *

"Jamison Reagan, please, you really need to sit down _right_ _now_ … you're making me and all of these other pregnant women nervous!" Eddie hissed from her chair in the far corner of the waiting room at her new OBGYN's office in suite 306 of the doctor's wing at St. Victor's Hospital as she clutched a pen and clipboard while anxiously filling out multitudes of patient intake forms. True to her word, Linda's friend Nancy had expedited their initial appointment and tests with Dr. Geisner after the surprising pregnancy revelation on Jamie's birthday... making today the approximate five-week mark past that fateful evening in the Icelandic cottage under the Northern Lights, but that's not what had Jamie up and pacing the length of the room while fully decked out in his NYPD sergeant's gear including his shoulder radio and gun as he had been unable to switch shifts at the busy precinct on short notice, and so found himself here rather than on his usual meal break. Instead, it was a call from this very office early the previous Friday morning that had him on edge… the one confirming that Eddie's initial pre-appointment blood work was positive while also revealing that the hormone marker levels were quite high, possibly pointing to the presence of multiples. While the unexpected arrival of one magic bean in their lives had put him over the moon with happiness and expectation, the thought of two or… even, gasp... more than that at one time... left him shaking in his spit-shined black leather service boots.

"Seventy-five and a half hours," he griped as he attempted to comply with her wishes and seated himself on the chair next to her while his leg continued to bounce incessantly and he rubbed the space between his eyes as his hand came over his face. "How can you drop news like that on someone and leave them hanging over the entire weekend… imagining, you know… well, what I've been imagining… Ed, our house only has four bedrooms and I refuse to drive a minivan..."

"Calm down, Jamie," Eddie advised although she too had nervous iron butterflies clanging together in her stomach. "The nurse said 'higher than expected levels,' not that there was anything wrong or we should worry. They only did the blood test anyway because I've already been having such terrible afternoon sickness this last week and the hCG level was only thirty-five percent over normal. That would likely be twins if anything, not a litter... and probably no more than one at all. Linda said this happens all the time, and it fluctuates wildly between women; it could be perfectly fine for me and they just wanted to alert us to the possibility so we could prepare ourselves and not overreact… although a fat lot of good that did," she muttered under her breath as she watched him continue to run through his series of stress tells in rapid fire succession. "I can't believe Renzulli left you out on the street like this today."

"He didn't," Jamie explained. "I kept myself in the precinct at my desk all morning doing evaluations while Annabel went out with Patterson. She picked me up at noon to come here and now she's having her meal downstairs in the cafeteria," he revealed.

"You let her take the wheel?" Eddie asked in a mocking, sniffing disdain of this new young, attractive and gung-ho rookie partner in her husband's life who seemed to garner more privileges on the job with him already in eight weeks then she had with over two years in the car next to him.

"Of course, she's a very good driver," he mumbled absentmindedly and without forethought as he switched over to nervously chewing his fingernails, an extremely telling last-ditch habit he despised in anyone else. Not even the more pronounced versions of baby bumps that littered the rest of the waiting room chairs had distracted him from their current situation. All Jamie was focused on was today's planned ultrasound which would reveal exactly how far upside down their lives would turn in the upcoming months and years.

Eddie was just about to offer a choice comeback to that nifty little tidbit about Annabel's road warrior prowess when the door to the waiting room opened. "Ed-it Reagan?" a voice called from the hallway. Jamie sucked in a nervous breath as he jumped to his feet once more while Eddie flinched at the common mispronunciation of her name. It never failed to irk her to the ninth degree, and the fact that her husband usually commented every single time it happened had her primed for retaliation.

"Ed-eet," she corrected as she stood up to follow the nurse who was also obviously pregnant and dressed in an obnoxiously loud smiley faces yellow and blue scrub top. _Good lord,_ she thought to herself, _after how many of these does something like that become acceptable to wear in public?_ "This kid's going to be named Bob or Sue," she muttered to Jamie. "I will not inflict that kind of torture on my child."

"As long as it's not Bob, Sue and Rita, too," he added with a hard swallow and a tight-lipped grimace as he followed her path out of the room. "Oh, God, speaking of torture… Eddie, what if… I mean so help us... you know it could be identical triplets that turn out like Danny," he pestered as his mind continued to grasp at improbable straws and he hovered behind. "We'd have to keep the bail fund in an extra large mayonnaise jar on top of the refrigerator."

"Your parents did that for him?" Eddie quizzed as she signed herself in and handed over her now-completed forms. "Seriously?"

"Just my mom," he admitted quietly as he followed her to the back, stopping along the way to have a few measurements taken. He could tell Eddie was also on edge by her reactions and the significant roll of the eyes she gave when her weight and height was recorded after she quickly kicked off her shoes, but thus far she had proved much more successful in tempering her feelings than he had been as the nurse led them to an exam room and sat down to confirm a few facts as she scanned their paperwork.

"Edit and Jamison, I am assuming?" she asked as they waited while she began to take Eddie's blood pressure reading.

"Eddie and Jamie is fine," he cut in quickly in an attempt to curtail any inevitable unnecessary small talk over the origins of their names. The suspense was eating him alive by now and if he could have pinned his wife down and figured out how to operate the damn ultrasound by himself, he would have done so by this point already.

"Looks like we have a nervous new dad; I see we're here for a first look at things and according to the results of the blood work you are definitely harboring a little fugitive or two in there," the cheerful nurse added in an attempt at humor in deference to his uniform, but it fell flat anyway. "Okay, Jamie it is," she replied. "Based on the date of your last period you would be at approximately seven weeks gestation today so we'll perform a transvaginal ultrasound to get the clearest reading. Eddie, you can go ahead and hop up there on the exam table and cover up with the sheet once you change into this," she said as she eyed his wife's favorite yoga pants and handed her a gown. "Everything off below the waist. When you're done with that Dr. Geisner will meet you in her office to review the results. Christine will be your sonographer today; she'll be here in just a few minutes. Try to relax until then," she said with a knowing wink towards Jamie as she left the room.

"Transvaginal… sounds lovely," Eddie sighed as she got up to change behind the curtain. "Guess I have to get used to stuff like that. You're not the only one that has a right to invade that territory now."

"Ed, how can you be so calm?!" he demanded in utter amazement at her serene state now that they were alone.

"Because someone has to be around to raise Kaylin and all these babies after you stroke out!" she bit back, albeit quietly and with sympathy for his condition knowing that Jamie only got like this when his OCD tendencies were triggered and he felt things were beyond his control. Once presented with the facts he would soon formulate a plan and snap back to the normal easy-going man she knew and loved… even if there was a so-called litter on the way. "Jamie, you know you're overreacting… now please try to relax and enjoy this. I can't explain why, but I feel sure we can handle whatever they tell us. It's the first time we're gonna get to see our little munchkin... or 'kins," she added with a smirk as she came back in the room and he rolled his eyes. "This is like Christmas morning a gazillion times over!"

Indeed, the pair was captivated with the amazing sight of a little Reagan bean soon after Christine, the sonographer, arrived and quickly set about prepping Eddie and getting on with the scan, having been warned there was a potentially uptight and armed papa in the room. Jamie rolled his stool over to the side and the two were enthralled at the first glimpse of their unborn child as a single black dot and alien-looking blob of a creature came into view almost immediately.

"Oh my God," Eddie breathed. "So amazing... look at that, Jamie! It's our baby!" she whispered excitedly as they could already make out the head and arms. He was speechless for several moments and could not take his eyes away from the screen.

"It's… well, it's a real… already looks like… so soon..." he stuttered before swallowing hard. "Just one?"

"Well, it appears that way at first glance, but let's have a good look around in there just to make sure," Christine advised as she moved the probe and performed a thorough search while Eddie grimaced as she bore some cramp-like pain and cursed at him under her breath for his continued insistence that every small dot which appeared had to be investigated thoroughly.

"Um, what's that?" Jamie gulped as he spotted another similar structure flash by.

"Left ovary," the tech replied with a small smirk and shake of the head. "That one won't need a college fund or keep you up at night waiting for them to come home. Let me just do another sweep of the right side to see if anyone is hiding out over there," she advised as she remained completely focused on the screen. "Nope, no one else is home. Looks like a singleton here. I understand you were concerned about multiples. Do twins run in the family?"

"No, I guess not," Jamie replied with more than a little disappointment evident in his voice. Suddenly the thought of only one baby felt like a bit of a letdown as the sight of that little blob had forced a fierce feeling of paternal love and pride to wash over him, just as it did whenever he saw Kaylin. They were a family of four now and he would have welcomed any others in the same fashion, just as Eddie knew he would.

"Well, let's get back to numero uno and take some measurements," Christine advised as she skillfully brought the little alien back into view and began clicking. "We're measuring seven weeks, one day which is exactly right based on your calculations," she added. "Is this your first pregnancy?" she asked. "I apologize but I didn't get a chance to review your chart fully."

"Yes, but we have an adopted three-year-old daughter at home," Eddie explained.

"Oh how nice," Christine said as she continued her work. "I'm sure she'll love being a big sister. And here is the heartbeat… see that that little flashing blip right there... a solid 120 beats per minute is perfect at this stage." Eddie was beaming from ear to ear as she squeezed Jamie's hand, her own discomfort forgotten as the tech switched over to Doppler and the beautiful sound filled the room.

"Well, let's see if we can get some nice pictures for your baby album since we have a cooperative one here. At seven weeks a fetus's genitalia will also begin to develop but we won't be able reliably to determine sex until about the eighteenth to twentieth week so you'll have time to decide if you want to be surprised or not," she explained. "If you have a good imagination, you can see that the hands, feet, fingers and toes as well as nostrils have already begun to form, and there!" she clicked. "We have the eyes and mouth as well as the aforementioned cute little button nose. Internally some of the structures have also developed and are beginning to play important roles in the growth of the baby… the appendix, liver and pancreas are such organs, and the... kidneys..." she paused with just a hint of a very experienced and well-concealed frown as she made some notes that went unnoticed by the happy couple in the room with her. "Everything appears to be falling close to or within the normal range," she phrased carefully as she withdrew the wand and the screen went disappointingly blank once more. "We'll be able to do a much more detailed exam at approximately twelve weeks which will check important markers for developmental problems such as Down syndrome, for example. We'll also be measuring levels of amniotic fluid, as well as looking for any signs of gross anomalies, of course, but for now we are within the acceptable parameters."

"Ugh, will that one be internal too?" Eddie asked as she took her heels out of the metal stirrups and scooted herself back up on the bed.

"No," Christine answered. "From this point out unless there is a specific reason, all of your scans will be abdominal, but you do have to come loaded with a full bladder for that," she smiled as she turned to the desk and pulled a green bracelet with the practice's logo from the machine with a USB drive attached and handed it to Eddie. "Here are some photos for you to share with your family. Just bring this back to all of your appointments and we'll load shots and videos from each session on there for you. This is your paperwork. You can get changed and the nurse will be back in a few minutes to show you where to go to meet with the doctor in her office." She smiled and added before she left, "Your due date in case you were wondering is June 13th. Congratulations."

"See, Reagan," Eddie called out as she quickly went to slip her pants and shoes back on. "You had yourself worked into a frenzy all weekend for nothing. It's just one good old-fashioned plain healthy sort of human-looking baby like you wished for."

Jamie couldn't help but feel a little regret at his earlier angst now that there would only be one little Reagan addition coming in the spring, but he was still elated to hear everything else looked healthy. That definitely eased his mind, and he reached over and gave Eddie a quick kiss when she returned. "That was amazing," he smiled. "You know I love you… just sometimes I worry..."

"Too much," she finished for him in their normal bantering way.

They were still chatting happily about the ultrasound after their meeting in Dr. Geisner's office where she had greeted them with a warm smile and answered multitudes of new parent questions, leaving Eddie feeling comfortable with the fact that although it was unwelcome, the intense nausea she had been experiencing every afternoon was also likely normal for her own body and would hopefully pass with the advent of the second trimester. Jamie was flipping through the photos again on his phone while they made their way down to the cafeteria to retrieve his rookie Annabel, having sweet-talked the amused receptionist into downloading a few from the USB and emailing them to him so he could show them around the precinct and add one to his hat collection along with Joe's and a favorite shot of Eddie and Kaylin together.

Jamie grabbed Eddie's left hand as they were walking down the hall and brought it up so he could kiss her wedding ring. "You ready for this?" he nodded at the window of the waiting room as they passed. Four more anxious moms-to-be were in the seats.

"I think it's a little too late to ask that question," Eddie grinned. "I mean we haven't even had our two-month anniversary yet, Reagan, and we've already moved into a new house, adopted a toddler and are working on another."

"I guess I was always an overachiever," Jamie laughed. "Never a dull moment, right?... but I wouldn't have it any other way, Edit Katalin," he added quickly, and then paused to smile and share another kiss as they walked into the elevator alone. The doors closed, and they bided their time in blissful contemplation before arriving on the lower floor and exiting on the ding after it opened. The couple had just turned the corner before the cafeteria still holding hands when they ran directly into another Reagan as Linda was on shift in the ER and had just finished her own lunch break.

"Oh, I was hoping to see you two today!" she returned breathlessly at their happy faces. "I bumped into Annabel and she was thinking your appointment would be finished soon. So? How did it go? Are there…"

"Just one like you said," Eddie smiled as she held Jamie's arm while he pulled up his favorite shot of the baby's face and that aforementioned button nose and gave the device to his sister-in-law. "He swears it looks just like him, but I think we're a lot closer to ET at this point," she laughed.

"Wow, that's just amazing…" Linda trailed off as she dutifully admired the already much-loved little blob and those pangs of remorse were driven home hard once more. Ever since the wedding when Erin had planted that little seed about her and Danny making their own little girl she had desperately been trying to push those long-suppressed feelings away without success. It was a ridiculous notion though, they were done and past that point in their lives with two nearly grown boys and the debt from private school to show for it, still...

"It's our very first picture for the baby album," Eddie gushed with wonder evident in her voice without noticing the older woman's touch of melancholy. "I can't wait to go home and start that book! Just wait until the Grandpas see!" she enthused, eager to share the news with the rest of the family.

"I'm sure Frank and Henry will be strutting around like another proud papa is," Linda smiled as she gave Jamie a hug. "Congratulations you two; I'm so happy for you both! Now you better get in there and let Annabel know everything is good… she was worried her partner was wound a little too tight when you left her. I've gotta run and get back upstairs. Expect your brother to be convinced it's gonna look like him!" she forced a laugh and called out as she left before quickly rushing away and running to catch the empty elevator as the doors closed and a single tear rolled down her cheek when she turned around.

* * *

 _Aw, so poor Linda is feeling the pangs of her soon-to-be emptying nest while Eddie and Jamie are over the moon with the sight of their little single upcoming addition. Next in part two, Danny will arrive home, nearly prepared to reveal a surprise of his own, but he'll find out that something he thought was finally finished might just need a little more work after he and Linda have a serious heart-to-heart._

 _For Jamko lovers, have no fear, my heart and the majority of my writing is still with them, but this storyline between Danny and Linda will be touched on and actually set up an interesting conflict for the brothers and their wives in the next installment as they try to create a balance between their work, personal families and each other while Mason Malevsky turns his sights on them once more, so please bear with it either way. I do love to bring in the whole Reagan clan and their issues while still centering for the most part on Jamie and Eddie!_


	16. Magic Beans (Part II)

Chapter 16

Magic Beans (Part II)

 _As it turns out, Jamie and Eddie are not the only Reagans with a little bean on their mind as Linda reveals her previously repressed feelings to her husband and the two of them have much to discuss both before and after a decision is made regarding what to do about it. Dedicated to everyone who requested a continuation of the Danny and Linda storyline from "It's all in the name…"_

* * *

Daniel Reagan gave a heavy sigh as he parked the green Jeep in the driveway of his home in Staten Island and dragged his tired body up the steps towards the front door to let himself in. He knew it was well past dinner and frankly late enough for the boys to be soundly asleep in bed on a school night, but he and Baez had caught a last-minute break on one of their colder cases and the execution of a well-timed search warrant had led to the arrest of their prime suspect. _Chalk another one up for the good guys,_ he thought wearily as his key turned in the lock and he opened the door to find the love of his life gathered up in a tight ball on the right side of the couch with a big glass of Merlot in one hand while she was paging through some of her beloved scrapbooks with the other.

"Boys in bed?" he asked as he stowed his gun and warm raincoat in the closet, still inwardly chilled after a cold damp late October evening on the street.

"Yes," she revealed as her fingers trailed down the page in front of her; it was Jack's first day of kindergarten and there was a picture of him sitting in the front seat of the bus waving nervously while Danny was holding a two-year-old Sean sitting on his shoulders so he could see his brother through the window. How different would things be now if they added another to their circle, she thought. Jack would already be off to college by the time such a day would arrive for another, and Sean would be an upperclassman in high school… probably too self-involved by that point to stand at the bus stop and watch as a little brother or sister took their first big public step towards independence. A baby arriving now would be more like an only child with late-stage parents. She took another long sip of her wine.

"There's a plate made up in the fridge, you just need to warm it up… we had meatloaf and potatoes," Linda advised as she turned to the next page. First soccer game this time and a funny ironic Jack-o-lantern smile with a number of missing baby teeth staring back at her.

"Thanks, babe," Danny offered as he raised a suspicious eyebrow at her despondent tone and his glance slipped down to see what she was looking at while he made his way over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. The damn baby books… he should have guessed what the fallout would be based on the photo attached to the message he received earlier from his brother, proclaiming "Hi, Uncle D!" It sure didn't take first grade detective skills to see where his wife was at with that news.

"So we finally got the guy that was knocking off all the late-night pharmacies," he deflected as he walked in the kitchen to heat up his meal. He reached for a longneck instead after opening the fridge when there was no response to his attempt at small talk and he twisted off the cap, flipping it with great accuracy into the trash before returning to the living room to join his wife on the couch. This was the sensitive Daniel Reagan that was present now, the one that recreated long ago date nights and memorialized them in books just like the one his wife was staring at. In fact his little crafting masterpiece had finally been completed with the inclusion of their portrait from the renewal ceremony after the wedding as the final prints had arrived just yesterday at his office in a thick, white envelope from the photographer, but he had yet to bring home his gem; figuring things were really solid between him and Linda at the moment and Danny always seemed to find himself in need of a get out of jail free card… or bail fund… at any given time. Tonight was shaping up to be one of those evenings though. The couple had long held a debate as to the size of their family, with Danny and common sense winning out thus far… two healthy boys to be thankful for and a load of private school debt in their wake from a pair of moderate salaries in an expensive city. It only made sense to stop there, still he knew Linda had always longed for one more in her heart, but now… it was finally out of the picture, he thought. They were both in their early forties and Sean and Jack would soon be off through high school and beyond… there was a whole next stage that his wife could immerse herself in… dating, college, weddings, eventual grandchildren… it was more than enough for them, but he just had to make sure she understood that. _Damn, tonight would have been a good time to whip out that book about just the two of us and distract her,_ he thought with regret as it was still locked in a drawer in his desk at the 5-4.

"I take it you ran into Jamie and Eddie at the hospital today," he prodded as another glance showed she had switched over to the Sean edition now, all chubby and flushed while bawling in that white family christening gown just after the Father had dipped his head in the font during his baptism. "I heard the kid nearly needed a tranquilizer before it was over."

"He's just nervous and excited," she chided as she flipped to the next page; a pained and comical expression on Sean's face as he sat at his preschool graduation in a cardboard hat with a little curly redheaded girl latched onto his arm in a tight hug. Sean was always the reluctant ladies man, Danny grinned. "You remember what it was like when we found out," she added wistfully.

"I do," he acknowledged. "I also remember the path we wore into the carpet every night when Jack was colicky, and the projectile vomiting Sean did when Grandpa was feeding him those little cherry pies he was allergic to that we didn't know about. I had to repaint half the walls in the house. None of _that_ stuff is in your books, Lin," he added as he tipped his beer back and took a long deliberate swig. "But Jamie's gonna find out all about it too. They're damn lucky it wasn't more than one. Can you imagine my brother trying to clean up after two or more at the same time? He'd have a meltdown. It worked out with Kaylin… she was already basically housebroken by the time he got her."

"Danny, that's rude and besides, it's all part of it," Linda reminded as she reached forward and refilled her glass from the half-empty bottle on the coffee table. "Everyone is different… no two people are the same. That's what makes it special. Imagine all the stuff you would have missed out on if your mother had given up and not gone through what she did for your brother."

"Yeah, but that was different though," Danny argued. "Mom and Dad both wanted another, and it was a physical problem… they had the means though, Linda. If we had the same I would have never cared if we had two or ten, but it's just not responsible to put ourselves further down a hole. We just got to a point with the boys and even with Pop offering to help out with their college funds, we're still struggling with both of us working. It was the right decision back then and it's the right one now," he added in an attempt to cut off any further travel down that road. This same conversation tended to come up whenever the topic of babies hit close to home. "Plus at our age… starting over… we'd be in our mid-sixties before it would be just us again," he added as he slid closer to her on the couch. "C'mon, Lin… honey, I know you always wanted a girl, but there's Kaylin in the family now and whatever little one is to follow. We can spoil them rotten as much as we want, and still hand them back over whenever it gets messy… it's perfect. Someday we'll be grandparents if the boys ever get their acts together. In the meantime, you and I can enjoy each other… maybe take some trips on our own. We got married so young and then Jack came along right after I got back from those two tours overseas…"

"I can't help how I feel, Danny. I've pushed it away all these years. Everything you say makes perfect sense, but..." she teared up. "Now I feel like it's our last chance," she sobbed into his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. "I was so jealous of Eddie today… I know that's wrong and all, but these feelings came on so strong… It was like my heart was tearing in half. I just feel like someone's still missing here."

"Linda Bellis Reagan," Danny sighed as he drew her close and kissed her forehead. "I know, honey, and I'm so sorry that I couldn't give you everything you've wanted all these years. It was my fault with the job… I was never ambitious enough to pull ahead once I made detective and Dad moved into the big chair. I'm a grunt… always have been. Moving up through the ranks and pay grades just wasn't what I focused on. I'm just the guy that stays on a case like a pit bull on a T-bone… Plus, Linda… we're both getting up there now. Doesn't that mean that more things can go wrong? I just got you back," he added before a long pause as he hugged her tighter. "After the shooting and all that went on last summer…" he trailed off as he remembered how close their marriage had come to being yet another casualty of two terrible days thanks to Curtis and Jared Quinlan. "It would kill me if anything happened to you," he admitted.

"Are you calling me old, Daniel Reagan?" Linda bit back in a soft voice as she sadly wrapped her arms around him and snuggled in. As hurtful as this conversation was, she was grateful he was being thoughtful in his response instead of going off the wall and putting his foot down with a firm "We're not even considering this!" like all the times previously. His points were certainly fair ones and there had been a great deal of improvement in that aspect of their relationship after the rockiness of the year before.

"No, I'm callin' _me_ old," he laughed. "You're timeless," he added with a self-satisfied smirk at that classic save. "But it matters, right? I mean the chances of something going wrong go up now. Maybe we need to be happy with the two healthy children we have. And we're not the only ones to consider. What about the boys? Is it fair to them?… They're gonna need us the next few years if it's anything like what I went through at that age… if we try, and something happens to you... I could've ended up on the wrong side of things if I wasn't lucky and my parents didn't stay on top of me, especially my mom… even with two other brothers and a sister in the house. You weren't there that night when Jamie came… he was too early and she started bleeding. I remember how scared my dad was… I had to call for the ambulance. We could have lost both of them..."

"Danny…"

"Oh, no... Lin, honey… don't… please," he begged as she continued to let big crocodile tears roll down her cheeks and his heart broke. "It was just seeing Eddie that way today at the hospital that has you all wound up like this again."

"No it's not," she confided as she wiped her eyes. "I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since the wedding… _before_ she got pregnant… you know how much I've always wanted a little girl, Danny. I kept picturing our own all dressed up with flowers and bows at Jack's wedding and then later… all the girly stuff that Eddie will be able to do with Kaylin, just like Erin has Nicki… I've been drowning in testosterone in my own house for all these years," she sighed. "I've tried being 'that' aunt for Nicki and I love her, but she's grown up now and it's not the same… I can't be part of her life in that way, that's a mom's job."

"Well, unless things have changed since back in the day, or you're talking adoption like with Kaylin, that's not your choice, is it?" Danny asked with a heavy resigned sigh. Here was his wife, the one he loved with all his heart and who had supported him in so much during their lives together… giving up dreams and security so he could follow his own calling, and now all she was asking is that he consider doing the same for her while she assumed all the risks. "There's no guarantees you'll get what you're praying for…"

"That I can accept, Danny," Linda promised with a small tinge of surprise as she sat up and looked directly in his eyes, hope evident in her voice now as she never expected there would even be so much as a sliver of light behind that door… she had assumed that it was completely closed and locked tight now… that all this today would just result in a needed emotional purge once more. "Really?"

"You know this is such a bad idea, right?" he sighed and conceded as he reached forward for the bottle of wine which quickly became much lighter with several large swallows taken down directly from it. With Eddie pregnant and a constant reminder to Linda of the ticking clock and her deepening need, Danny knew this time the feelings she was having would not pass by lightly. "I have to at least be able to say I was drunk when I agreed to it… you know my family, they're going to demand an explanation," he offered as he looked at the label. "Gonna take something a lot harder than this to get the job done, though. What's the first step?" he asked as he swirled the remaining contents around again. "Or do I need to pick up a bottle of tequila like the kid?"

"Danny, I don't want to say anything to anyone, especially the family," Linda begged as her heart started beating faster; she wasn't imagining things… he was really agreeing to this. "Not even the boys at first… if things don't work out… I don't want to have to explain."

"So we keep it on the down low," he agreed. "Then what? Shouldn't you go get some kind of checkup or have the doc sign off or something?" he asked as he took the glass out of her fingers and moved those precious books out of the way before slipping a hand behind her back and underneath her shirt. "Or do we just move ahead to the fun part?" he continued as he nuzzled her neck with soft kisses. "I'm game right now... better take advantage of me while you have the chance."

"Daniel Fitzgerald Reagan," she pushed back on his shoulders as those cold hands came around and worked their way underneath something else now that it was loosened. Danny always had a gift for dexterity when it came to getting that particular item undone, something she had found out on that third date night after dinner at Grandma Betty's house when he had sweet-talked her into a kissing session with a play for second base in the backseat of Henry's old Studebaker in the garage instead of walking down the street for a cone of promised ice cream. "We should talk to Dr. Geisner first," she murmured as her heart pounded and she shivered as those hands slipped lower. "It's not that time now anyway," she revealed while returning his kisses that now deepened.

"So we need to practice," he insisted as he stood up and pulled her to her feet. "Let's take this upstairs, Mrs. Reagan."

"You're sure, Danny?" she stopped him with a hand on his chest. "I mean we're in a good place now, I don't want to do anything to mess that up or bring something else between us…"

"We're good, Lin," he assured as he stroked her hair and pushed it back behind her ear. "This is something I know you've wanted for years and if it makes you happy, nothing's gonna come between us again, alright? I promise. We'll make it work somehow… we always do. What about me? Do I need to go see anyone? I mean I know I've got the easy part..."

"Easy," she laughed quietly as they continued to take the conversation upstairs and into their bedroom as he closed the door and locked it before pushing her down on the bed and removing his shirt. "All you needed to do with the boys was look at me the wrong way and pass out the cigars nine months later."

"Well maybe that was our problem," he murmured as he continued to undress her and the sight of her laying naked on the bed like that excited him like no other woman ever had. "Girls must take a little more work. Flowers and stuff like that beforehand… maybe some Marvin Gaye in the background for good luck like that damn cat, huh?... Call the doc," he advised for one last assurance before the talking stopped and the love and passion they still felt for each other took over. "If she gives us the all clear, we'll try and see if Pop will get another one of those great-grandbabies he keeps talking about."

###

"Mr. and Mrs. Reagan… Oh, it's you, Linda," Dr. Geisner added in surprise as the couple walked into the room. "Well, this is unexpected," she greeted them warmly from behind her desk. "Seems like we've had quite the run of visits from your family this week. Nancy said you requested a consult?"

"Yes, um, about that. If we could please maybe keep this between us for now," Linda asked as she and Danny took their seats and she grabbed his hand. "I mean I know Eddie and Jamie will be coming in regularly since she's pregnant…"

"Of course," Dr. Geisner assured knowingly as she took out her notepad. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, we are considering trying for one last baby ourselves," Linda admitted as she blew out a small breath. "I know I'm over forty now and…"

"We want to know if it's safe for her," Danny interrupted as he cut straight to the chase, having thought of nothing else since that little conversation and the ensuing bedroom encounter three nights ago.

"Well, as I'm sure you are aware," the doctor started. "Birth rates have increased dramatically for the over-forty set in recent years. There's never been a better… or safer time for it. A pregnancy by a mother in your age bracket has nearly the same odds of being healthy as that of a much younger counterpart, however as we move into the golden years of baby-making, or "advanced maternal age" in doctor-speak… the chances of pregnancy complications creep up ever-so-slightly," she informed them. "First we have to realize a woman is born with a lifetime supply of her eggs, so they age right along with us. Though the vast majority of them continue to be released without incident, the closer we get to the use-by date shows a slight increase in the risk of certain problems. For instance, while a twenty-year-old mom-to-be has a one in 10,000 chance of delivering a baby with Down syndrome… a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosomes, a forty-year-old's odds are one in 100. While the chances of having a completely normal baby are still heavily in your favor, if you are successful in getting pregnant you'll be scheduled for prenatal testing that can identify Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities… that's routinely ordered for older moms… just to be on the safe side."

"One in a hundred," Danny considered carefully as he had not realized the odds were that dramatically different. Having a healthy baby at their age would be a strain, but a special needs child would amplify that even though he knew there was such a risk at any age.

"Yes, and secondly we have to deal with the fact that as women we're not spring chickens anymore either. Older bodies are, in general, somewhat more susceptible to a variety of health issues, including high blood pressure and diabetes… which puts older expectant mothers at a slightly greater risk for the pregnancy-related forms of these conditions like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, and which gives your practitioner another reason to pay closer attention to your pregnancy. Preterm labor is also slightly more common in over-forty moms, as is having a baby that's small for gestational age, yet another reason for all the extra scrutiny. You'll also be more likely to require a C-section or assisted delivery with vacuum extraction or forceps, for example, particularly if you've delivered by that method before. I see your youngest son required an emergency section."

"He was a big baby and got stuck. I wasn't making progress with the contractions before he showed signs of distress," Linda admitted with a frown while recalling that disappointing and stressful time.

"Well, to be safe we would likely schedule that again," Dr. Geisner revealed. "But you have the experience and know what to expect with it. The good news is that if you start off your pregnancy in good shape and keep yourself in tip-top form throughout… and as a nurse you know how to do that: eating well, exercising regularly, getting all those tests that are recommended, you'll do just as well as your younger pregnant friends, and, once the delivery is behind you, you'll have years more experience and wisdom to offer that precious little person you've just brought into the world."

"So what you're saying though is that there _are_ more risks for both Linda and a potential baby," Danny questioned with renewed concern as his focus narrowed. "What about the odds for, you know… her getting pregnant in the first place? You said her eggs are older, what about my… I mean like she said for the boys, all I had to do is look at her the wrong way and hand out the cigars when it was over."

"Likewise, the quality of the male contribution decreases with the years," the doctor informed. "As a man ages, it generally takes longer for his partner to get pregnant. There's also an increased risk of not conceiving at all. Whatever the age of the mother, the risk of miscarriage is higher if the father is over 45. The children of older fathers are at greater risk of autism, mental health problems and learning difficulties."

"Whoa," Danny sighed with regret as he squeezed Linda's hand and gave her a sad glance. "Maybe we should have done this before… I'm almost 42 already… honey, I don't want you to go through something like that because of me."

"Danny, we knew that waiting this long might make it harder," Linda answered. "There are risks for everything, but all my tests have always been clean… I'm probably healthier now than I was in my twenties," she assured.

"I can see I've given you both a lot to think about," Dr. Geisner added. "My advice is to take what you've learned and talk to each other before proceeding… weigh the risks and benefits carefully. I believe in informing my patients on either side so that they are comfortable with the decision going forward. Please know that the vast majority of births such as these are without complications unless there are pre-existing conditions behind them. Is there anything else to consider?" she asked as she made a few more notes.

"The bullet," Danny revealed suddenly. "When she was shot down in the ER last year," he explained gravely with a sudden flashback to that time. "The fragment was lodged near her spine and they left it there because it was supposedly safer… her doctor… Dr. Jacobs, he said it was probably not going to migrate, but…"

"It's on the right side near L2. Dr. Jacobs said paralysis is not likely, and it hasn't bothered me a bit after I finished PT," Linda revealed with as much of an unconcerned spin as she could muster. Surely that incident had been put behind them and was in the past now after all they had been through the last eighteen months.

"Well, the sympathetic nerves from T11 through L2 control your uterus, cervix and some other reproductive structures," Dr. Geisner replied thoughtfully as her pen flew across the paper once more. "If you haven't noticed a change in your regular cycle since then it is likely there was no significant damage, still if you would like I can consult with Dr. Jacobs and review your films from that incident..."

"Please," Danny answered quickly for both of them as suddenly there were more than enough doubts for him to regret that moment of weakness when he had agreed to this in the first place. "What about that in terms of carrying or delivering the baby? Could it matter?"

"That's a bit of an unknown without further input from your neurosurgeon," Geisner advised. "If an evaluation suggests the possibility of an underlying neurologic condition, a number of tests can be performed to assist in diagnosis, such as nerve conduction studies. Essentially though if the organs look and are performing normally, there probably will not be any negative consequences."

"I don't know about this anymore, Linda…" Danny trailed off with worry evident and the doctor could clearly read the great disappointment on her patient's face as she had been quiet for the last several moments and the tears began to glisten.

"Let's schedule another appointment in a week or so," Geisner offered softly to pacify her. "That will give me time to speak to Dr. Jacobs directly to come up with a plan of action, and for the two of you to digest all the things we've discussed here today. I commend you for coming here as a couple. These are certainly issues that need to be considered together before a decision to move forward is made, but as in everything there are often other options to consider if needed once we have the facts… be it basic fertility treatments or something as involved as surrogacy if necessary. There is still a very good chance that everything is as it should be and you can successfully conceive and carry a healthy child on your own without any intervention. We're just going to have to do a bit of detective work to confirm that first, okay?"

Danny and Linda both nodded at that resolution and quietly left together after thanking the doctor and stopping at the receptionist desk to arrange a time for a follow-up consultation for the next available date the first week of November. It was certainly a more subdued Mr. and Mrs. Reagan that held hands as they passed the waiting room with its already expectant mothers and made their way down the hall to the elevator just as Jamie and Eddie had done happily only a few days prior. Unlike that excited kiss the younger couple shared as the doors closed, there was instead only a few muffled sobs as Danny sought to console his wife.

"Honey, please don't cry," he pleaded as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder while they waited to get off on the ground floor, and he ushered her quickly out of the front doors towards the parking garage and away from a potential sighting by any co-workers. "Like she said we don't know the facts yet, and there are things we can consider if we have to. I don't want you to give up on your dream, but we're not doing this if there's any danger for you," he warned plainly. "The boys and I need you too much to risk that."

* * *

 _So maybe things won't be as simple as a look and a box of cigars this time around for Danny and Linda as there are more things to consider certainly before a decision is made either way, and how will their determination to keep those feelings hidden from the rest of the family affect their reactions to Jamie and Eddie's more open happiness? Next, Sunday dinner that week is unbalanced as the tension remains underlying while the follow-up visit with Dr. Geisner reveals where the older couple will go from here._


	17. Magic Beans (Part III)

Chapter 17

Magic Beans (Part III)

 _In the final part of our three-shot, Sunday dinner discussion centers around the new little bean's ultrasound (or blueberry at this point in time) while Danny and Linda are still at odds over the results from the appointment with Dr. Geisner. Eddie feels a bit of a chill from her new sister-in-law for reasons she can't understand before another appointment with the doctor steers our older lovebirds on towards the next stop in their journey._

* * *

"So when do you think you'll tell Kaylin? It's hard for me to remember sometimes not to say anything directly about the baby in front of her," Erin asked as the three Reagan women were gathered in the kitchen while putting the final touches on a Sunday dinner comprised of a Greek-style bell pepper salad with of huge chunks of crisp peppers, slices of fresh cucumbers, loads of salty Kalamata olives for everyone but Jamie who was allergic, a big dice of tangy goat feta cheese and a few pieces of crunchy walnuts for a bit of a finishing touch, plus grilled steak, roasted little red potatoes and steamed green beans. Jamie was serving as grillmaster on this chilly weekend in October and was making frequent trips in and out to the back porch as he tried to cook everyone's beef exactly to order. Ironically, Eddie found herself fixing a plate with only simple salad greens, plain tuna and crackers since any heavy intake of high protein at this time of day was sure to trigger another extended stay in the bathroom as it would all just make a rapid reappearance, anyway.

"Oh, all the online chat rooms say to wait until the beginning of the second trimester when I start to actually show," Eddie revealed as neither of the two women had noticed how quiet Linda had become. "Jamie thinks she needs to see a better picture of the baby to understand it's real and right now the ones we have would probably give her nightmares of alien abductions," she laughed. "She's already wondering why I'm sick every day, but I think we can pawn it off as the afternoon tummy flu for a few more weeks until hopefully this passes. What about you, Linda?" Eddie asked innocently as she glanced to the side where her sister-in-law was cleaning and slicing the veggies. "How did you tell Jack about Sean coming?"

"Oh, um… I don't really remember," Linda replied rather curtly. "I'm sure Danny probably spilled the bean… well, I mean he can never keep a secret like that. If you'll excuse me, I think I left my phone in the car," she hedged as she hurried out of the room while her device sat plainly next to her purse on the counter, garnering puzzled raised eyebrows at her actions by Erin and Eddie.

"Did I say something wrong?" Eddie blinked in confusion.

"No, I don't think so," Erin assured as she moved and took over the task of preparing the vegetables and adding the beans to the steamer. "Danny mentioned something earlier before you got here about Linda having some family problems from her side, but that she doesn't want to talk about it. Her parents are getting older, maybe they got some bad news… her sister is a real piece of work to deal with, too. Could be anything."

"Oh, well, I still feel bad if I upset her," Eddie replied. "I sure know what it's feels like to have issues with that…" she trailed off. "I'm not half as worried about telling our three-year-old daughter and having her understand as I am my own mother."

"She won't be happy?" Erin asked as she set the timer for five minutes. "She seemed to get so close to Kaylin when she was here for the wedding and Dad said she was very affectionate with her as she said her goodbyes when they dropped her off at the airport the next day. I would think she might like another grandchild, especially a new baby this time."

"My mom is a real fickle pickle, if you haven't noticed," Eddie admitted with a small snort as she used her father's long-ago pet name for Eva. "She'll eventually accept it… even be happy after a little while I think, but before we got married, she warned me about doing something like this too quickly and putting so many people before my own needs right away… I'll have some 'splaining to do, especially because I told her I was going to focus on becoming a detective this year. She really wanted that for me. I mean if I'm gonna be a cop she thinks that I'll be safer behind a desk more often than not instead of out on the street on patrol every day. Maybe I'll have to play up that part of it," Eddie sighed. "I'll be stuck as a big, fat house mouse for months now while this kiddo is sucking me dry. Speaking of pickles," she veered off topic. "I swear I would give anything right this second for an extra large greasy cheesesteak from Chickie and Pete's with a pile of cooked onions, peppers and pickles plus an order of their super hot spicy fries. I've been addicted to that place since my dad and I took a day trip down to Philadelphia years ago to watch the Giants play the Eagles. With Jamie's genes in here though, that would probably just about kill me," she added with a sad huff as the back door opened and her aforementioned husband arrived inside shivering and bearing a loaded plate of perfectly seared steaks. "More plain lettuce and tuna for me I guess, right dear?"

"Sounds good, lambchop," he agreed, oblivious to the whole of their previous conversation as Jamie himself was dreading the big grandmommazilla reveal and frankly happy that Eddie had decided to put it off until Thanksgiving week or so. "You need protein, but tuna no more than once a week because of the mercury. The blueberry is making the umbilical cord and private areas right now. Gotta stay healthy. You should really add some milk or yogurt for the calcium," he advised. "I'll take this out to the table. Everything else ready?"

"Right behind you, papa bear," Erin teased with a friendly elbow to his back as she carried a few serving dishes with her before turning around while Nicki suddenly appeared in the doorway to help them as she had finished setting the table.

"Blueberry?" she questioned her aunt.

"That's how big the baby is right now," Eddie sighed as she explained. "We use those words for it around Kaylin so she doesn't pick up on everything we're talking about. Your uncle has obsessively memorized each and every weekly stage we'll be going through, what size the munchkin is compared to fruit or vegetables and what's happening with what at that precise moment in there."

"Well, then you're right Eddie," Erin whispered to her sister-in-law now following behind her. "I don't see you getting that cheesesteak anytime soon. Call me if you get desperate though and I'll arrange to smuggle something in for you when the food warden isn't looking. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

###

"I have to give it to you girls, this new pepper salad is fantastic and I think this is some of the best steak I have ever tasted," Frank declared as he sat with fork and knife raised in the air. "Just about melts in your mouth," he proclaimed before offering a sheepish look towards his newest daughter-in-law as he noticed her grimace and wrinkled nose while she took another deliberate bite of her lettuce and tuna.

"Mmm hmm... yummy... yummm...," she trailed off with a frown and sighed.

"Grass-fed organic free-range beef from the mountain pastures in Idaho," Jamie explained as he ignored his wife's comment since it was his turn to provide the main fare for this week's dinner and no one else in the family was a big fan of fish or vegetarian dishes except for the occasional salmon Linda prepared. "Annabel's father, Bill, runs deliveries from the distributer in the city so he gets it at wholesale. We're gonna have to try their Bison rib-eye next time."

"Well, I'm certainly game for that," Henry declared as he looked down the line at a rather quiet right side of the table. "What's the matter with our Staten Island contingent?" he asked. "Normally the three of you would chow down over a meal like this and be fighting for the table scraps. Kaylin's big kitty cat got all your tongues?"

"It's Bear, Pop Pop, and he can't catch 'em! He's back home at my house 'gain!" the little girl insisted as she happily dipped the little meat pieces and all her vegetables into her favored ranch dressing, or white gravy as Jamie had taken to calling it since it flavored just about everything she ate these days. Even her hypervigilant daddy knew not to mess with a good thing though as long as an otherwise balanced dinner went down one way or another for the tiny but finicky pre-schooler who had an upcoming appointment at the pediatrician which would no doubt result in another lecture about where she fell on one of those damn height-weight charts again, averaging around just the third percentile in weight and tenth in height. Jamie was adamant they find somewhere new to take her after he nearly lost his temper with one of the rather preachy doctors there the last time, while Eddie appreciated the convenience of their sick-child 24-7 emergency clinic which was located just a few blocks from their new home so it was a standoff at this point, especially with the new addition on the way.

"Just been a long week, Pop," Danny acknowledged quietly for the whole family as he picked at his plate. The tension in their house had been evident over the weekend as Linda fought to control her emotions and both boys had nervously picked up on it… concerned that it meant a return to that time when their parents had separated for a few weeks and Danny went to live with Jamie and Eddie. They couldn't know of course what was really behind the issue and the fact that their father was doing everything possible to remain supportive while renewing his stance that having another baby was something they probably shouldn't do. The couple would have begged off on this dinner today in fact if they could have come up with a reasonable excuse on such short notice, hence Danny's deliberate, but not wholly truthful reveal to Erin that Linda was having family issues and didn't want to talk about it. The rest of the Reagan family was thusly fooled as to the cause of her angst and warned to tread lightly around her. Unfortunately that tactic backfired when it left the other major topic of the week up for open discussion… Eddie's first ultrasound.

"So Aunt Eddie, what was it like seeing the 'blueberry' for the first time?" Nicki asked with a snicker and air quotes around this week's descriptive term. "I heard that Uncle Jamie was afraid there was a whole fruit salad in there."

"It was pretty incredible," Eddie admitted. "We didn't expect it to look so… um, well so berry-like already. Word of advice though," she added. "If you are ever in that situation, take a tranquilizer dart with you for the hubby unless you appreciate being internally strip searched to make sure there was only one. Happy the rest of them will be done from the outside," she emphasized with a roll of the eyes.

"That still must be so cool, though," Nicki continued to ask for details as her curiosity was piqued, much to her mother and Linda's dismay. "When can you find out, you know… what kind of melon you might have? I mean will you? Or do you want it to be a surprise?"

"Oh, um… not for another ten weeks or so," Eddie admitted as she glanced at the side for confirmation. "And we really haven't had time to think about it yet, did we dear?" she asked pointedly although the pair was already divided on that point with Eddie wanting to wait until the birth to find out if it was a boy or girl to keep the surprise while a pragmatic Jamie would rather be sure he was painting the nursery the right color. "What size produce are we looking at by that point?"

"Bell pepper just like these yummy vegetables Mommy made for you, right Kaylin?" Jamie answered automatically as he ducked that loaded first question and tried to keep his daughter interested in the food while he popped another bite in his mouth before filling in the details. "Fingerprints form, eyes face forward and start to see, well at least detect light."

"Peppers see me?" came the surprised question from the precocious three-year-old as she hesitated while dunking that next veggie in the dressing and suspiciously pushed her plate away. "Greenie beanies, too?"

"No, baby… Daddy is just joking," Eddie huffed as she nudged the dish back. "Greenie beanies and other vegetables are still yummy for your tummy to eat... they can't look back at people. You and your bright ideas, Harvard," she hissed at Jamie under her breath as she watched her daughter self-impose yet another restriction on their meal-planning. Pretty soon they were going to be back to the dreaded all-you-can-eat grilled cheese sandwich stage again.

"Funny, I thought everyone in this family knew the reason potatoes make good detectives," Jack snickered as he came out of his shell a bit and offered a joke to lighten the mode. "It's because they keep their eyes peeled."

"Watch it weisenheimer," Henry warned as he picked up a roasted spud with his fork and took a deliberate bite in front of Kaylin. "See, sweetheart… the nice vegetable never saw it coming. Anyway back in my day," he continued as he tried to change the subject before it went any further down that road. "We didn't need to have these conversations. There was no highfalutin fancy way to look at it. If the rabbit kicked the can you waited nine months, when it was time the woman got knocked out cold until it was over and then the doctor handed you a cigar and took you to the nursery to look at whatever God blessed you with behind the glass once it was there and cleaned up. That's how we ended up with Francis," he added with a smug grin. "If my Betty and I had seen the mug on that big ten-and-a-half pounder beforehand we might have sent him back," he kidded.

"Well I think having all of this information beforehand is a wonderful thing," Erin added. "I mean it helps you bond by seeing the development and on the outside chance they do find something wrong, there have been such advances in fetal medicine... a lot of times they can fix it before the birth or be prepared to do it right after. I only got to have two ultrasounds with Nicki, but they were both incredible experiences," she added as she reached over and squeezed her daughter's arm. "I'll never forget them. What do you think, Linda?" she asked without knowing how that question was directly related to what was currently between Danny and his wife. "I mean in the years since you first started nursing, hasn't all the technology and testing improved the outcomes?"

"Yes, but sometimes I think it's better to rely on faith like before," Linda answered quietly with a tight throat as she stared down at her plate and pushed the food around. "Too much information can be a bad thing if it keeps you from following that," she stated considering that all those same sort of facts they had just been given had spooked her husband right back into the 'we shouldn't even consider this' camp.

"Well, I'm with Erin; I think the more you know, the better," Danny insisted as he surprisingly inserted himself into the conversation in agreement with his sister and he vigorously cut off another piece of meat with his steak knife to make his point. "Especially if there are other things to consider and it saves someone from getting hurt," he emphasized cryptically with a final scrape on the plate as he stabbed his loose beef with his fork and waved it in the air. "Sometimes we have to be thankful for not taking a wrong turn. What do you think, Dad?" he challenged as Frank looked on with a wrinkle of concern at the palpable tension between the older couple as he had been unable to get a clear reading of what was going on between the two yet, and this little interchange had done nothing to dispel that.

"I think that considering my parents, I was pretty lucky to be born at the time I was," Frank admitted with a frown and eyebrow directed towards Henry. "But it's not the information that is a good or bad thing, just what you decide to do with it. Now, please pass those observant potatoes," he added in his typical method of defusing a potential heated exchange at the table.

###

"Eddie, please go sit down and rest, I'll get it," Jamie admonished after he came back inside from cleaning and storing the grill for the winter and found his wife in the kitchen at the sink scrubbing the last of the serving platters. "You shouldn't be doing that."

"Jamie, I'm fine," she insisted. "It's a blueberry, not a pumpkin yet, remember? And can we just go back to bean for this week? Blueberries kinda creep me out with that little pucker exploded-looking thing there on the end. Besides, we're the only ones still here. I think Pop is playing checkers with Kaylin; your dad got a call from work and went in his office; Erin had to run Nicki back to school for some sort of study group and Danny and Linda already left with the kids. It was weird though, don't you think?" she noted as her hands stopped in the soapy water and she made her patented frowny face. "I mean the way they acted around me today. It was like she couldn't even be in the same room and had to get out of here. I hope I didn't say anything wrong earlier, although I'm not sure exactly what that could have been," she puzzled with a hurt look on her face. "You don't think they're having problems again, do you? Maybe she's upset because I helped Danny the last time? The boys were quiet too in the beginning."

"Something was definitely up, but I can't imagine it was anything about you, lambchop," he assured as he slipped in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist before letting his hands slide into the suds as he took over the dishwashing. "Besides it looked like they were into it before we even got here. It couldn't have been anything you said. They'll work it out, whatever it is. Don't worry about it," he offered as he breathed on her neck and offered a soft kiss. "Maybe you should concentrate on this, instead."

"Oh, Mr. Reagan," Eddie sighed as his close presence jumpstarted another happy side effect of this unexpected pregnancy as her hormonal havoc had definitely heightened her already healthy sex drive… something her new husband was only too happy to exploit on every possible occasion. "Maybe once we're done here, we can ask Pop to keep an eye on Kaylin a little longer while we run some errands for an hour or so," she added suggestively. "What do you think?"

"I'm thinking this little magic bean is the best wingman I've ever had," Jamie admitted with a sly smile as he pulled the drain so the water could run out of the sink. "Daddy owes you big time, sprout. Let's get out of here."

###

"Linda… Danny, so good to see you again," Dr. Geisner greeted the couple at their appointed time more than a week later. "Dr. Jacobs and I reviewed your charts and old films last Thursday, but first before we get into that I'd like to know if you have any more questions for me."

"No, not really," Linda admitted as they took their seats on the other side of the doctor's desk. "We've talked about the increased odds for genetic problems and the fact that terminating a pregnancy in the event something like that came up is against our beliefs," she informed her.

"Well, again… the odds against a problem like that remain heavily in your favor, even at this later stage, but it is certainly good to be on the same page with each other should that become an issue," the doctor agreed as she looked up and noted the quiet and more reluctant expression on Danny's face had remained since their last visit and he shifted rather uncomfortably in his seat as an incident from the past weekend had threatened the necessity for this very appointment, but that was a story for another day. "Alright, I'm sure you are most anxious to hear about Dr. Jacob's perspective on the possible complications of the bullet as it remains, so let's proceed with that," she counselled while flipping back to her previous notes.

"First, as you know the decision not to operate and remove that fragment was a clinical one and based on a careful risk-benefit analysis. Your immediate spinal cord area was not compromised and normally scar tissue develops in one to two weeks that stabilizes the position. Considering the fact that you report no pain or disfunction after your initial recovery that was probably the safest option at the time."

"That's good then, right?" Linda edged. "It's been almost eighteen months since that day and aside from a little stiffness here and there if I'm on my feet all day, it isn't really bothering me anymore."

"Yes, that's a very good thing," Dr. Geisner admitted. "However since the fragment is lying near the sympathetic nerves around L2 I mentioned which do affect the reproductive system, Dr. Jacobs would advise having an EMG, an electromyogram and nerve conduction study done to test your nerve function. That test is very safe and performed in an outpatient setting," she added quickly as she saw Danny's concern mount. "Tiny electrodes are put to the skin and very small amounts of electricity are run through them to test the nerve and muscular response."

"And what is he looking for?" he questioned as he sat forward.

"Well, the presence of the bullet may lead to future complications such as development of neuropathic pain, migration to cause further damage, and inflammation. One of our main concerns though would be the effect on the uterus which is a muscle and does need to be able to contract and function throughout the pregnancy to avoid complications, even if you elect to have a scheduled c-section. There are still small contractions that aid in turning the baby and the musculature supporting it in the womb, although I must note that even women with full paralysis can and have had successful healthy deliveries," she emphasized.

"You said that is one of your main concerns," Danny latched onto her words as any good detective would. "What are the others?"

"My other worry would be the growing pressure a pregnancy would place internally on the fragment which might cause it to migrate or press up closer against the spinal nerve root," Dr. Geisner admitted. "Weakness may occur for any muscle that is innervated by the pinched nerve. Long-term pressure on the nerve can produce atrophy or wasting of that particular muscle and you could experience intense lower back pain, muscle spasms, localized pain and tenderness and loss of motion among other things. There is a possibility that such things could become permanent."

"Well then that's it, right Linda?" Danny asked as he turned to his wife who had remained quiet. "Even if the chance is low, we can't risk your health like that. I mean you've made such a good recovery after the shooting… we have to be happy with that and the fact we already have two healthy boys. We're talking about the quality of the rest of your life here!" he began to insist.

"I know you're right, Danny," Linda admitted quietly as she controlled her response. "It was so easy before for us before I never thought... but still…" she implored as she looked up at the doctor.

"Again," Dr. Geisner emphasized. "We are dealing with the unknown as I do not know how we could test for such a thing beforehand. Other options for a biological child would include surrogacy, the overall cost for which can be between $80,000 to $100,000 if the couple can donate their own eggs or frozen fertilized embryos. Domestic adoption could be another avenue, but that still could reach into the tens of thousands," she offered.

"Not gonna happen unless we hit the lottery," Danny acknowledged sadly.

"What if we take the bullet out first?" Linda asked suddenly as the thought occurred to her. The last week had given her time for introspection, and although this was still a painful topic, it was easier for her to approach it now from her more clinical medical background as a nurse once she was able to temper her emotional response. "If I recover from that well then there wouldn't be any issue, right?"

"That would be a discussion you would need to have with your neurosurgeon and your husband," Dr. Geisner answered thoughtfully. "For this part, yes that would likely resolve the issues you would be facing, but I cannot speak to what Dr. Jacobs would advise… we did not discuss that possibility. I would suggest you make an appointment directly with his office. I'm sure he would require you to have a new CT scan and perhaps that EMG before he could counsel you."

"Linda..." Danny warned.

"Danny, I have to know before we just give up," she begged. "He never told me it was too dangerous to take it out, just that it wasn't necessary because the bleeding and everything else was controlled and it wasn't likely to move or cause further issues if he left it there. At the time, I thought we were done, and I never brought up the possibility of having another baby. I promise I'll move on if he thinks it's the wrong thing to do. Please?" she pleaded. "Let's just have a little more faith? We've come this far… I need you to do this one more thing for me."

"Alright," Danny sighed as he reluctantly gave in. "Call him and make an appointment and we'll go from there. Linda, you know I love you and would give you the moon if I could," he trailed off in guilt once more that they had waited to this point.

"I know, Daniel," she acknowledged softly as she grabbed his hand for the first time during the whole appointment. "And I love you more."

* * *

 _So all hope is not lost for our older lovebirds, but there are still issues to consider and it will take them a while to get that appointment with a specialist and the testing done which will bring that storyline into the next installment. Next up starting Monday will be a two-shot chronicling Kaylin's last outdoor soccer game of the season which took place just two days before this appointment and sees Jamie's NYPD "Blue Shieldz" PAL team come up against the FDNY "Red Dragons" smoke eaters of Station 54 in a battle of the heretofore undefeated sides, which of course will have nearly the whole competitive Reagan clan showing up for support except for Eddie who is stuck at work and demanding periodic updates. Add in an evident clash of coaching styles between the brothers, a rather painful error in judgement for Uncle Danny, a trip to the pediatrician for several ouchies for Kaylin as well as a near brawl on the sidelines which requires the Police Commissioner's tactical finesse to thwart and we'll have just another typical weekend kid's sporting event._


	18. Oh, Brother… (Part I)

Chapter 18

"Oh, Brother…" (Part I)

 _A two-shot chronicling Kaylin's last outdoor soccer game of the season has Jamie's NYPD "Blue Shieldz" PAL team come up against the FDNY "Red Dragons" of Station 54 in a battle of the heretofore undefeated sides, which will see Francis Xavier Reagan nearly throw down with his FDNY counterpart. Add in an evident clash of coaching styles between the brothers, a rather painful error in judgement for Uncle Danny, a trip to the pediatrician for several ouchies for Kaylin as well as a near brawl on the sidelines which requires the Police Commissioner's tactical finesse to thwart and we'll have just another typical weekend kid's sporting event._

* * *

"Jamie, do you have the sunscreen packed? What about the clementine orange slices and juice boxes for halftime? It's our turn for snacks today and we need to keep these kids energized and hydrated so they don't crash in the second half! They need their electrolytes if we're going to take down these smoke eaters!" Eddie reminded as she bustled around the kitchen before eight on Saturday morning, completely jazzed about the fact that Kaylin's undefeated Police Athletics League soccer team, the Blue Shieldz, was scheduled to play the last game of the fall season against their cross borough unbeaten rivals and pride of the FDNY, Station 54's U5 Red Dragons.

"Honey, you do realize this is supposed to be a 3 on 3 'friendly' game for three- and four-year-olds, not the final of the World Cup," Jamie reminded as he set his clipboard and NYPD ball cap down on the counter. "We're not even in the same league. Dad just set this up with the Fire Commissioner because his grandson is on that team and he kept harping on how good they are. We're not even supposed to keep track of the score. They're just little kids… it's all about having fun, getting some exercise outside and teaching teamwork."

"Oh, come on!" she chided. "Of course we keep track of the score! You know every parent on that sideline knows exactly how many goals went in! This is for the honor of the whole department! How often do both Commissioners show up for the same event? I bet the press will even be there! Danny scouted their team last week. He said as long as we double up on number 6 they won't get near our goal. You just need to put Colin and Kaylin up front in a 1-2 and keep Matthew in the goal and they'll never be able to stop our attack."

"Oh, brother," Jamie sighed as he regarded his uber competitive wife who often expressed her strong opinions on his more relaxed coaching decisions. "It's against the rules to have a designated goalkeeper at this age, plus you know we have six players coming and I rotate everyone around to give them all a chance to play up front. Maybe you should stay home today."

"Not happening," Eddie vowed. "I wouldn't miss this game for anything…" she trailed off as her phone began to ring. "Reagan," she answered as soon as she saw the caller ID was from the front desk at the 12th precinct. "Oh, hey, Kara… what's up?" she greeted her friend and sometimes partner after she heard the voice on the phone. Jamie glanced at his watch and noted they had plenty of time before leaving so set about making breakfast for himself and Kaylin who was still sleeping. "Oh, no!" Eddie hissed, catching his attention once more. "He what? But he can't do that, can he?... I would, except…" she looked at him with a big frown. "No, I understand… Of course… you know I always have your back, girlfriend. Give me thirty or so. Yeah… see you then," she frowned as she hung up. "Damn it!"

"Problem?"

"Brandon's sick at the sitter's and Matt's still in Boston until this afternoon," Eddie explained with a huge roll of the eyes. "Kara's coming on shift and that bastard Desk Sergeant Dexter is on duty, you know the one that hates women cops… especially ones with kids. He said he'll give her a three-day rip if she leaves without bringing in a replacement."

"And that's you," Jamie surmised with a carefully concealed sigh of relief. He loved his wife dearly, but knew she was wound too tightly about today's game and with it being against an FDNY team with the full brass present on either side to support their respective grandchildren... well, he could do with one less match to light the fuse. The only reason he agreed to it was the fact that his father promised adamantly to keep a tight leash on the NYPD half of the sideline, including a nearly full contingent of Reagans, so with Eddie gone from her self-assigned assistant coach position behind the bench he could almost see his way out of this likely interdepartmental disaster.

"Yeah, no one else is willing to give up their Saturday. I gotta go," Eddie said sadly. "Kara's bailed me out more times than I can count…"

"Oh, that's too bad, lambchop. We're really gonna miss you," he fluffed as he nudged her out of the kitchen before she could change her mind or come up with a different plan. "Why don't you go wake sweetness up and wish her good luck while I make pancakes?"

"Pancakes?" Eddie huffed. "That's too heavy for breakfast before a game; they'll weigh her down! She needs her speed today!"

"Oh, brother," Jamie repeated with a heavy sigh while shaking his head. "She's three and twenty-five pounds soaking wet. I'll take my chances. Didn't you hear Dr. Know-it-all last time we took her into the pediatrician? He practically accused us of starving her with healthy food. Now go," he ordered as he pushed her towards the steps. "We'll keep you fully apprised of the situation. Stay safe with our little bean out there, Edit Katalin."

###

"Pop, I really don't think we needed to leave the house an hour before the game when Sunset Park is just five blocks down the road," Frank admonished as he stepped out of the black SUV on a beautiful, warm sunny early November weekend morning with his father in tow. "Jamie and the team aren't even here yet."

"You think I'm gonna let that overrated hose jockey, Stan Rourke, get a better seat on the sideline than me? How'd you ever get him to agree to come over to this side of Bay Ridge in the first place? I would have figured he wanted to be on neutral ground."

"We flipped a coin, Pop. Now promise me you'll keep it civil. The only way I got Jamie to do this was to swear to keep everyone in line, and that includes you, first and foremost right? Remember these are little children including your own very impressionable great-granddaughter. I don't want them learning words they have no business hearing from the supposed grown-ups here, so you're to sit in your chair and keep a lid on it. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it, Francis… so long as he keeps his big trap shut, too," Henry indicated as he nodded to FDNY's Commissioner Rourke and his contingent who had set up their encampment with an easy-up tent and chairs next to the field. "Told you we were late. Look, he's already sitting there right in the middle like the king himself."

"Oh, brother," Frank unknowingly echoed his youngest's most repeated expression already for the day. "Stan," he acknowledged as they walked by. "Nice day for a game."

"Frank," the top FDNY man replied as he looked over the top of his sunglasses. "Turf looks a little long. Guess you're trying to slow down our fast pass attack."

"Oh, brother," Henry muttered under his breath along with a few other choice words as his son pushed him along another thirty feet further down the line for a good measure of separation from the other contentious man. "But I can't see all the action from here!" he protested.

"Pop, these are small-sided fields, you can see practically every blade of grass from where you're sitting. Now unfold your chair and park it," Frank commanded before pacing around for the next twenty minutes wondering what on earth could have possessed him to even think this so-called 'friendly' game would be anything but… a point further emphasized as he watched his two sons pull up in the parking lot at the same time and walk towards the field in heavy conversation with Jamie loaded down by a ball and equipment bag while dragging a wheeled cooler behind as the rest of the parents and players started to assemble and Jack and Sean joined the Reagan contingent near their grandfather.

"Grandpa and Pop Pop!" Kaylin squealed with excitement as she skipped up in front of them. "You came to watch me play a game today!"

"We sure did, my sweetheart!" Henry smiled as he pulled her up on his lap. "Where's your Mommy?"

"Work," the little girl answered as she gave him a hug and kiss. "Branny got sick and his mommy had to take him home," she explained sadly.

"Oh, that's too bad," her great-grandfather offered, knowing that his granddaughter-in-law was far more vocal with her encouragement to win than his grandson before slyly leaning forward and whispering his own incentive in her ear. "Pop Pop will give you five whole dollars for your piggy bank for every goal you score today… our little secret," he cautioned.

"POP!" Frank admonished as he gave a nervous glance over at his son to make sure he didn't hear. "If Jamie ever caught you doing that when he's trying to teach these kids teamwork and passing…" he hissed.

"Oh, hush, Francis," Henry chided as he set Kaylin back down. "Same goes for any goal you help with," he offered as she scampered away to go join her friends. "There, problem solved," he huffed. "What? Always worked for the rest of them when they were playing baseball or whatever, and Erin nearly bled my bank account dry that season she was the top scorer on her basketball team. What you didn't know never hurt you, did it?" he revealed.

"My whole family is corrupt," Frank muttered to himself as he contemplated that fact while he watched Jamie enthusiastically greet the kids across the field with high-fives and start setting up for warmups.

"What's he doing with all of those damn little orange cones?" Henry asked as his son had been correct earlier with his observation that they never arrived to a game this early before. "He should have them in front of the net shooting like those little smoke eaters!" he added with contempt as the Dragons were lined up on the other side of the field peppering the goal with balls one after the other.

"He's working on their passing and dribbling skills," Frank explained while one little boy on the Shieldz decided to do his own thing anyway and kick the ball away from his partner as hard and often as he could.

"Eh, all I see when I watch this is back and forth… players losing the damn ball and giving it to the other side. The so-called 'Beautiful Game'... I still don't get it… what's so exciting? Only sport where a zero-zero draw can be considered a great achievement and grown men roll around on the ground and cry like babies. Now that kid has a hell of a foot," Henry nodded as he watched the little boy crank one off again as Jamie leaned down to talk to him and demonstrate a sweeping motion with his sneaker. "Put him up front and he'll knock the other team into the net."

"That's Colin Kittner," Frank sighed. "Dad's a detective out of the 3-5. Jamie's been working with him all fall trying to get him to play with the other kids and kick it the right way, but he probably has a great-grandfather that puts a bounty on every shot he takes," he sniffed with obvious contempt. "He usually just takes the ball himself and fires at will."

"Well that's good, we need a heavyweight," Henry advised. "Look at that Rourke kid over there… one too many twinkies every day. I could spot the family resemblance from a mile away. They better not play dirty! My little sweetheart won't stand a chance against those big overgrown clodhoppers!"

"Oh, Pop," Frank moaned as he stepped away for another break and advised Erin to go keep an eye and a tight muzzle on her patriarch as she and Nicki walked up to join them. His sense of peace was short-lived though as Danny was likewise banished from the opposite sideline by his younger brother and he was ranting as he walked over to join his father.

"Sometimes I wonder where Harvard's brains are at," Danny griped as he stepped up. "He's got one kid on the whole team that can absolutely crush the ball and he's trying to take his power away. 'Just say no to the toe,'" he mocked. "'Kick with the laces'... he does realize who we're up against today, right? I'd be telling him to kick as hard as he can to knock over those fire hydrants and the genius is telling me it's the wrong technique because he can't control the ball. Not if you want to win at this age," he grumbled.

"Enough! Family meeting!" Frank spat as he gathered the entire Reagan clan together in a huddle on the sideline around Henry's chair. "Now, I promised Jamie we would keep this positive for the kids no matter if they win or lose today," he warned in a low growl. "And by God, that's what we're going to do! You will all set a good example for the people on this sideline, and if I hear one negative comment come out of any of your mouths, I will have someone from my detail physically pick you up and sit you down on the curb over there in a public timeout, and that goes for you too, old man," he threatened his father. "Understood?"

"Yes, sir," came a chorus of answers from down-turned faces as everyone could judge that was not an idle threat from the tone it was offered in, and indeed a remorseless Police Commissioner continued to stalk back and forth behind the whole of the NYPD sideline keeping all of his blue-blooded charges civil when the ref arrived and play started as at this age the coaches shook hands and joined their team of three players per side on the field to offer direction.

The first few minutes were decidedly in the Dragons' favor as the neutral high school-aged ref allowed physical play to go on early while Jamie's lighter-weight skills-set team got bumped off the ball more often than not, although the visitors failed to capitalize on any of their numerous chances to put the ball into the net. A set of substitutions midway through the short twenty-minute half changed the balance as the Dragons sent off their top line while Jamie waived on an impatient Kaylin and her favored playmates Colin Kittner and Matthew Miller.

"Alright, guys," he advised before they restarted. "I want to see good passing and teamwork," he pointed out. "If we play together we can get around their last defender and get some shots, okay?"

"Right!" his little charges answered as they assumed their positions with Matthew sweeping defense across the back while Kaylin played midfield and Colin inched towards the front waiting for his chance at glory.

Indeed, it did not take long as an aggressive Matthew stole the ball from a flat-footed Tommy Rourke of the Dragons right off the start and offered a quick pass to Kaylin who took a touch and sent the ball to an open Colin whose shot went just wide and over the goal as he tried to listen to his coach and kick the ball correctly.

"That was awesome!" Jamie praised the little boy as he offered a high-five. "Next time try not to lean back as much and I bet it will go in," he encouraged.

"Next time just let him kick the ball the way he wants to, and I bet it goes _through_ the net," Danny muttered under his breath as he cringed and sensed his father's hairy eyeball look from down the line. "Ahem, good try there BLUE!" he yelled out loud to cover himself as Jack joined him in clapping to complete the charade.

"Thanks, son," he offered.

"Anytime, Dad."

The cheers were warranted just five minutes later as this time Matthew was able to win another ball in the back and his accurate long pass to an open Colin bypassed Kaylin and the rest of the Dragons and resulted in an easy tap in and score for the home side.

"YEAH!" roared the entire blue half of the field as their efforts were appreciated. "Good goal, blue! Nice job, guys!" came the Jamie-approved cheers from the sidelines. He had worked hard on the parent's reactions in games almost as much as the players and he huffed in relief to see that his own family had been kept tightly contained as promised by a diligent father's presence. The last thing they needed was any kind of overreaction to the score get the red side's dander up.

With just about a minute to go, a nice strike by Aaron Cooper of the FDNY team almost found the target before Matthew put the ball back into play and an errant oopsie had the Shieldz back under threat once more as nearly all the players on the field converged in one tight mass of kicking shoes on their end before Kaylin managed to worm her way out of the pile with the ball as she streaked down the sideline alone with just one Dragon standing back by their goal in her way.

"Oh, LOOK! Kaylin's got it!" Nicki cheered as her little cousin pulled away from the Dragon's mini Rourke. "She's on a breakaway! GO KAYLIN, GO!"

"SHOOT! SHOOT!" came the cries from the NYPD half of the sideline as the last thirty seconds of the half wound down and the ref glanced at his watch.

Dribbling off the outside of her boot, the little girl deftly passed it around the last defender to gain a step and set herself up for a right footed strike which she cracked with all of her twenty-five pound might… right off the top crossbar… just hard enough to vibrate the pvc piping a little and unfortunately irritate some hidden bad-tempered occupants before the ball bounced straight back onto the playing field.

"Ahhhh," the disappointment echoed across the field while Kaylin gave a little stomp of frustration as she stood by the empty goal.

"It was a really good try, sweetie!" Jamie encouraged as he retreated and turned to follow the play, not expecting his little defenseman Matthew to step up quickly and send the ball right back towards the Dragon's net. This time the defender came across and won the ball before Kaylin could react, and a small bump sent her backwards against the post before she let out a shrill scream and threw herself to the ground, rolling over and over.

"Sir! That was a foul!" Jack yelled on reflex as the ref blew the whistle for half.

"Oh, for crying out loud, what a baby! He never even touched her!" came an angry male voice from the FDNY side.

"Penalty in the box!" was the retort from the near side as the blue took offense.

"Someone read the rules, there are no penalty kicks at this age! You meter maids will try anything to cheat!"

"Hey, Reagan," Rourke taunted his commissioner counterpart. "Looks like that investment in her drama lessons really paid off! A little early to be teaching her to dive, isn't it?"

In the meantime, Jamie shot a disappointed glare over to his father once more that said in no uncertain terms he was unhappy with the behavior on the sidelines before he turned to jog up quickly to see what was wrong with Kaylin as the Dragon's coach and the referee also approached since she was still down and screaming bloody murder. The entire NYPD and Reagan contingent was shocked to see Jamie kneel and suddenly take off his hat and slam it to the ground near his daughter several times while yelling at the other men and motioning for the rest of the stunned little players to get back.

"Christ, I've never seen the kid so worked up at one of these things before," Danny gasped at his brother's uncharacteristic unsportsmanlike-like bad behavior. "He's really pissed!"

"Dad," Erin cautioned as she grabbed her father's arm in worry as he joined them near the endline. "That's not it! She's still crying, and he's picking her up... something's wrong!"

"Erin, stay here with the kids and your grandfather," Frank ordered as he hurried across the field to the opposite sideline with Danny following on his heels to where his youngest had rushed his daughter away from the net.

"OW! OW EWW! GET 'M 'WAY!"

"Jamie, son… what is it? What's wrong with her? Is she hurt?!" Frank called over anxiously.

"It was those big brown hornets, Dad! She got stung… more than once I think! I killed three of them on her! They must have had a nest somewhere by the goal and they got her!" Jamie tried to explain while laying a still-screeching Kaylin back down on the ground behind the bench as his father and brother ran up. The warmer than normal weather that day had obviously left the insects active once more. "I didn't check over there today before the game… you were all here and it's so late in the season… I forgot! It's okay, baby! I got them off of you!"

"OW, DADDY! IT HURTS ME! OW! OW!"

"Jesus, kid… those things can be nasty buggers at this time of year and they sting over and over!" Danny cautioned as he knelt on the ground next to his brother and started checking over his tiny niece. "Any of the other kids? How many times?"

"DADDY! OW!"

"No, I don't think so… none of the others. Keep them away from over there, it's wasps!" Jamie yelled as he looked up at the Dragon's coach and waved him off as the other man acknowledged and quickly herded all the players from both teams away to the other side of the field. "Three I think… no four, five here's another one!" he gasped as he located another rapidly swelling red mark. "Six! Oh, God... Eddie's gonna have a fit when she hears. She always made sure we checked the goals and under the benches first before every game… I didn't think… it's been so cold this week though until today. Must have been on her arm then got rubbed off and stung her right through the shirt! Eight! There's two on her side! Is Linda here? Does she have her kit?"

"OW! DADDY! ITCHY! NO TOUCH ME! UNCLE DANNY! STOP!"

"No, ah… she didn't feel right this morning, so she stayed home…" Danny lied as he ran his hands down Kaylin's legs and quickly stripped off her little pink sparkly cleats, shin guards and socks looking for any more bites, knowing that his wife had purposefully made a point of avoiding another encounter with a pregnant Eddie after the strained dinner the week before since they weren't due for their follow up with Dr. Geisner until Monday, the following week. "Hold on little bug," he tried to soothe with one of his usual nicknames for his niece which of course backfired immediately and created more hysterics.

"NO MORE BUGGIES! GRANDPA! P'EASE!" the little girl was still wailing to anyone that would listen at this point since her daddy and uncle weren't making it go away fast enough. "HURTS ME!"

"I know, sweetheart… just hold on. Daddy's gonna help you. Now, Jamie, son… you need to stay calm," he cautioned in disbelief at how fast this morning had turned around as he looked down. "But they're already swelling up and she's so blotchy with her fair skin from running around… I can't tell for sure but I think maybe she's breaking out in hives," Frank advised in a hushed voice even though Kaylin's continued cries of pain and fear were tearing at his heart. The bites were stinging hard and quickly turning into angry red raised welts with white spots in the middle of them on the very sensitive skin of her belly and under her arm. "That's a lot of venom for a little girl. She could be having an allergic reaction. I think we should call a bus to be safe."

"No, um… our pediatrician's 24-7 emergency clinic is only three blocks over on Westside. I'm just gonna run her there quick. I think it'll be faster," Jamie decided as he picked the still-crying little girl up in her arms once more, the game and everything else forgotten. "Can you take care of things for me here? St. Vic's is at least twenty minutes away at this time of day. I've got a kid's EpiPen in our first aid kit if we need it. Grab that red bag over there!" he ordered in only a semi-controlled panic now.

"Alright, Erin can go with you and drive," Frank offered until both of his sons paused and stared back with disbelieving expressions, knowing their sister's dismal record in that department, particularly when stressed. "You're right, Nicki then," he corrected. "Nicki, get that bag and help your uncle! Hurry!" he called and motioned across the field. "Danny and I will make sure the rest of the kids are okay and take care of the wasps so they're safe. Don't worry about the anything here. I'll handle it! Call when you know anything!" he yelled at the already retreating figure of his son as he was running towards his car the parking lot with his niece racing along behind him.

"Look at them, Dad!" Danny seethed as he turned around to face the shocked sideline. "Not a single damn offer of help from that side! A little girl's hurt and New York's 'bravest' sit on their cans!" he spat. "All they did was make fun of Kaylin when she fell down and accuse us of cheating!"

"Now is not the time, Daniel," Frank hissed under his breath as he approached the line. "Folks," he addressed loudly. "We had a little girl stung several times by wasps over there. It doesn't seem like any of the other children were bitten, but we're going to have to take care of that nest and check for others obviously, so for now just please be patient and give us a few minutes to speak with the other coach so see what his thoughts are on continuing the game since ours needed to leave to take his daughter to the doctor and his assistant is pulling a tour this morning."

"Oh sure, you'd like that wouldn't you, Frank?" Rourke baited. "Quit while you're ahead so it goes down as a win for you. Ah… there he is. The real Frank Reagan just showed up. Not this time. You stop the game now and it's a forfeit and our win."

" _Is he kidding?"_ Erin gasped while still purposefully keeping both hands on her grandfather's shoulders firmly to ground him in his chair. "He does realize how serious or scary that is for little kids and these are three- and four-year-old babies out there, right?"

"Nah, he's just showing his true colors," Henry bristled as he leaned forward anyway and tried to get up despite his granddaughter's restraint. "Yellow!"

"Department of Parks rules," Rourke continued to taunt. "Youth teams can't use a field unless they have a permit and there is a licensed coach on the field with them. Liability purposes," he smiled with a big jeering grin. "Pity, Reagan. I don't see another option for you."

"Stanley Rourke!" Frank growled as he felt his blood boil and temper rising at this poor example being set with such complete disregard for his own granddaughter's welfare in front of all these upset impressionable children and their parents. "I should…"

"Here," Danny interrupted as he flipped a card out of the back of his wallet. "Jamie's permit is on his clipboard and here's your damn card," he advised as even his father looked over in surprise. "Jack's coach asked me to get one to back him up a couple of seasons ago in case he was ever running late, so I had to watch a two-hour webinar and take a test," he shrugged. "Never used it… forgot I had the damn thing, but look… US Soccer "F" license. I'm still official," he sneered. "And unlike my little brother, I play to win. Game on."

* * *

 _Oops, so Uncle Danny is now seeing red as he looks at the opponents, literally. Not nice, but unfortunately that might come back to 'bite' him... sorry I couldn't resist, LOL. Next, Jamie calms himself down once Kaylin is tended to while Frank struggles to maintain order at the field and Danny pays a painful price for not taking some sage advice._


	19. Oh, Brother… (Part II)

Chapter 19

"Oh, Brother…" (Part II)

 _The conclusion of this two-shot sees a number of Reagans getting their just desserts for the day as Kaylin's team carries on without her and Coach Jamie while Frank struggles to maintain his own temper and order at the field and Danny pays a painful price for taking things a little too far in his brother's absence._

* * *

"Kaylin Reagan?" the nurse called out in the waiting room just minutes after Jamie had arrived with the little whimpering girl still in his arms and his niece in tow.

"Nicki, you can stay here," Jamie advised as he got up and turned around. "The rooms are small back there." He had calmed down considerably along with his daughter upon seeing her symptoms had not worsened substantially although she was still in obvious pain.

"Uncle Jamie, what should I tell Eddie?" Nicki asked as she held up her phone to show him two texts and a missed call notification. "I was feeding her the scores and play-by-play. She wants to know how things are going."

"Aw, I don't know Nic… just ignore them for right now or tell her it's still halftime. Check with your mom to see if they called the game. I'll get in touch with Ed as soon as the doc sees Kaylin; she should hear it from me. I need to tell her she's okay and I don't want her to get upset while she's out on the street…" he trailed off as he followed the nurse practitioner back through the hallway into the treatment area.

"Okay, sweetie," the kindly woman offered as she pulled the curtain back around them. "Looks like you had a run in with some nasties today, right my love? How many stings, Dad?" she asked Jamie.

"Eight that I found," he informed her with worry. "It was at least three of those brown hornets, not bees."

"They ouched me!" a slightly calmer Kaylin added still with tears, a sniff and frowny face.

"Oh, poor thing… I see that," the nurse agreed as she took careful note of the welts and their locations while searching for more and quickly taking the little girl's temperature. "I don't hear any wheezing or tightness in her chest which is good," she advised after listening as she flipped her stethoscope back up before pulling out a penlight and checking Kaylin's throat. "Severe allergic reactions to wasp or hornet stings are more rare than for honey bees, but symptoms can start anytime within two hours and she is pretty tiny for that many bites so it was a good thing you brought her in. I don't see signs of anaphylaxis so it doesn't appear like she needs any epinephrine but Dr. Remig will be here in a minute to have a look. You'll need to watch her carefully, but my guess is we'll just load her up on a good dose of antihistamines as a precaution and some ibuprofen for the pain. That's going to make her very sleepy for the rest of the afternoon and they're gonna itch too for several days, cortisol cream will help with that. Cold packs on and off today and as needed for the swelling. Okay sweetie? I'm so sorry you have that many ouchies, but we're gonna make you all better. Did you at least make a goal today?" she asked for distraction.

"No, and I m-missed and m-made the bad buggies mad," Kaylin cried sadly. "No more!"

"No, baby… no more today. Daddy should have checked for the buggies before the game," Jamie admitted with great guilt. "Mommy usually does that, and I forgot."

"Oh, you're not the only one, we had three others this morning already, although they were lucky to get off with just one or two hits. You get the prize for the most today!" she smiled as she pulled a blue ribbon sticker from the roll on the counter and handed it to the little girl to cheer her up. "This weather is making those biting things just plain mean; I think they know the cold is about to zap them for good," the nurse assured. "Let's step in the hall and get a current weight and height on our future little Miss Alex Morgan here… my older daughter is a soccer player too, follows the women's national team like they're rock stars. She even waited for hours and got their autographs last year when they played at Red Bull arena in Jersey. Let's see…" she continued to chat warmly to settle both shaken Reagans before her. "Twenty-four and a half pounds! You are a peanut, aren't you? Have a seat back in here and I'll go draw up those meds and give Dr. Remig a heads-up."

###

"This is such a bad idea," Frank muttered to himself as he watched his oldest get set to take the field with the team for the second half in Jamie's absence. A quick search through the Shieldz's equipment bag had yielded a can of spray which was used to neutralize the hidden nest and careful inspection of all other parts of the playing area deemed it to be safe so once more the red and the blue lined up against each other.

"I got this, Dad," Danny had assured before taking over. "I know the rules… all the kids have to play at least fifty percent of the time. I'm down to five… that means one stays in and two rotate off at the quarter," he smiled. "And you know which one I will be keeping on."

"Daniel," Frank had warned. "Your brother is not going to be happy with you if you undo all the good he has coached into that little boy this fall… he finally has him playing the right way…"

"The right way today is to score," Danny insisted. "There's no way those hose jockeys deserve to win after what they just pulled… fair play my, ahhh little duckies," he sneered in his grandfather's now favorite g-rated covered curse. "They made fun of one of ours, now we come after them thirty-five thousand strong," he declared with conviction. "Well, five-strong, but whatever… it's the pride of the shields they are wearing. These are cops' kids, Dad! You know that's just as important for them to understand," he insisted. "They have to know if something happens to them the rest of us have their backs."

"Oh, brother," Frank hissed under his breath as he blessed himself and said a prayer for guidance as the whistle blew and play resumed with the still-shaken blue team consisting of Colin Kittner, Amanda Berman and Jack Seyfried on the field with Danny holding his ace lineup of Colin, Matthew Miller and Palmer Peters for the final quarter. A text from Nicki letting them all know that Kaylin was doing better and had just gone back in to see the doctor eased Frank's mind considerably and he was able to focus on what he could only assume would be the impending disaster before him.

Still rattled by the loss of their teammate and coach, the Shieldz were once again backed off and intimidated by the strongest Dragons' threesome, but managed to do just enough and by the time a break for the prescribed changes was due, the score was even at 1-1 on a nice long distance shot from the Red's Jarred Young who finally found the net for the FDNY. That entire side of the field erupted in raucous cheers which left Amanda with her head down as she had been the one to give up the goal. A quick word of encouragement from coach Danny and a promise of an ice cream cone after the game from a certain gray-haired member of the Reagan clan had her smiling once more and Frank heaved a sigh of relief at the fact that things at this point could have been much worse. Unfortunately he didn't have long to wait, however, as Danny had just been biding his time before bringing in the big guns, as it were, with clear instructions to the other two boys to sit together in defense and keep feeding the ball to Colin up front.

"Ref!" came the protest from Commissioner Rourke on the sideline. "That's a violation! There needs to be a girl on the field for co-ed teams! He has to pull that number 7 off!" he smiled knowing that as the lone non-boy remaining, little Amanda was already tired and rattled after that last play, leaving the Shieldz at a distinct disadvantage.

"That's not exactly right, Stan," Frank spoke up as his eidetic memory tracked the PAL's league rules which were deferred to since they were playing at home. "Section three, paragraph nine states there must be a minimum of two female players per game roster, and that all children must participate at least fifty percent of the time if able. It doesn't state anywhere that there are other restrictions, therefore since Kaylin is clearly injured it's up to the coach's discretion to fill in those minutes."

At this point the poor fifteen-year-old referee wiped his brow and wondered what he had done to deserve this morning's assignment, wanting nothing more than to take his little envelope of $24 in pocket cash for less than an hour's work and hightail it outta there. "Play on," he signaled with a whistle as the game restarted.

Once again the Reagan brothers' strategy to keep their strongest players for the second string paid off in immediate dividends. Talented Matthew Miller terrorized the weaker Dragons' back two and stole the ball at will, sending it forward to Colin on nearly every play, resulting in many wild shots and "oohs," as the Red's defenseman Kyle Smith bore the brunt of several on-target drives before he gave up and just moved out of the way as the Shieldz pulled ahead 5-1 in a matter of minutes to a chorus of heavy boos and jeers as a now dejected FDNY team put their heads down and their restless fans jumped to their feet.

"Okay. Fellas. Remember, we're all here for the kids. Right?"

"Yeah, well, nobody on our team sleeps on duty!"

"Yeah? Well, nobody on our team beats the hell out of people for no reason!"

"You're gonna want to take that back!"

"Okay, fellas, you know what? Calm down, okay?"

"Meter maids!"

"Hydrant boys! Ooh! What are you gonna do? Spray us with water?"

"Timeout!" Frank yelled as he hurried out onto the field to rein in his oldest son before there was an incident like what had occurred at the 2014 NYPD-FDNY annual charity hockey game at the Nassau Coliseum where a full-out bench-clearing brawl reminiscent of the old NHL was waged as gloves and helmets were dropped and all-out war was declared resulting in a half-hour delay and a compiled list of penalty minutes that would make any old-timer smile.

Not today.

Not at his little granddaughter's soccer game.

Not on Francis Xavier Reagan's watch, he vowed. For starters, Jamie would just plain disown and ban him from all future events.

"Somebody please tell the Police Commissioner there are no timeouts in soccer!" came the catcall from the inflamed Dragons side.

"Public safety matter!" Frank returned back as he approached Danny.

"There you go," Stan Rourke instigated with a laugh. "The great PC has spoken and the mayor himself will back him up. Our people need to cooperate. By which he means the guys with the guns run the show. Same as on the streets! You're not everybody's boss, Frank!"

"It is my job to protect everyone, including your team!"

"My team can take care of themselves!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake, hush now, Stan!" Frank huffed as he finally reached his son. "Enough," he demanded. "We're up by four with two minutes left, Jamie would tell the kids to pass back and just keep the ball. No more. We're trying to instill sportsmanship here."

"That's not good sportsmanship, that's insulting!" Danny insisted. "I hate when coaches do that! Maybe we should be instilling the fact that it's okay to get your butts whupped by a better team once in awhile so you come out and try harder next time. Enough with this damn participation medal crap! You know the commercial where the guy peels that off the trophy and writes 'Champion' on it with a sharpie? That's me!" he insisted as he thumped his chest. "They've taken twice as many shots on our goal. It's not our fault they can't put them in! No one here is playing dirty, Dad! We followed the rules! Jamie taught these kids to pass, now I'm letting them shoot! This is the first real game either of these two teams has had all year... let it finish that way!"

"C'mon, Francis! Let's get this over with!" Henry barked from his seat on the sideline. "I want to go check on my sweetie-pie and these kids are getting hungry! I owe them ice cream and the stand here closes at noon!"

"Sir?" the bedraggled ref prodded. "My mom is waiting to drive me home and we're running really late now."

"So be it," Frank muttered as he conceded and wandered back to the sideline wondering what kind of penance he was going to have to do this time before Jamie ever spoke to him again.

The Shieldz saw two more chances go wide or over while time wound down as little Colin Kittner's legs started to tire after so many shots and time on the field. Diligent Matthew sent one more ball forward in the waning minute and Danny moved to the side and encouraged his star forward to try for one more.

"Colin, there you go! Kick it as hard as you can!"

The final seconds of the game found another Reagan rolling on the ground in front of the goal howling in pain after taking a stinging hit to a sensitive area which provided the Police Commissioner with the perfect resolution to the matter as the resultant eruption of laughter and feeling of justified karma had both the red and blue sides satisfied with the results.

###

Jamie could have used a little more of that nurse's calm counsel thirty minutes later when he walked out in the waiting room to find Nicki with an already drowsy Kaylin starting to nod off on his shoulder after a big dose of liquid diphenhydramine hit her system. Another 'discussion' with his least favorite pediatrician in the group over his daughter's small physique had left him fuming once more, but he had held his temper in deference to Eddie's wishes that they remain with this practice because of the convenience of this particular location, which had in fact come in very handy today, he acknowledged. Still, he needed to vent to his niece on the way out to the car after assuring her the little girl was going to be fine while waiting for Eddie to return his call.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nicki asked as Jamie was still mumbling to himself as he carefully put Kaylin in her seat for the short trip home. "'Cause I hate to admit it, but it sure was fun driving your car over here earlier. It rumbles," she laughed. "I felt like a race car driver. Good thing you taught me how to drive stick back then."

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," Jamie admitted as he slipped into the driver's seat but paused to unload his frustration before turning the key. "It's just that this one doctor keeps insisting every time we see him that we have to get Kaylin tested because she's so small for her age and she hasn't gained much in the past few months… 'slower-than-expected weight gain and growth,'" he quoted with contempt. "He claims she had failure to thrive as a baby because her mother neglected her… and conveniently keeps forgetting that she was adopted last year until we remind him, but I don't see the point of putting her through that anymore. I mean obviously Jayne wasn't mother-of-the-year material, but she's gone. Now he must think Eddie and I are doing the same because Kaylin doesn't have much of an appetite, and what she does take in she burns off… I mean we try, aside from force-feeding her… just makes me crazy… pointless… He actually had the stones to tell me that maybe she shouldn't be playing contact sports either because she's too fragile."

"Uncle Jamie, you and Aunt Eddie are the best parents!" Nicki exclaimed. "And Kaylin is as tough as they come! She's a Reagan! That doctor doesn't know what he's talking about!" she added as her phone beeped.

"Is that Eddie?" Jamie sighed as he started the engine. "She must be tied up… she hasn't called me back yet."

"No, it's mom," Nicki reported. "I asked her if they were done, but she's just getting back to me now. It says, 'Game over, Shieldz won! Pop buying 4 both teams, Danny down 4 count at house, LOL'... she's laughing out loud?" Nicki mused. "Uncle Danny? What do you suppose happened to him? Maybe he got stung too?"

"Oh, brother," Jamie repeated for what felt like the hundredth time that day as he changed course and headed back up a few blocks to the family home instead of his own to find out what might have happened to instigate that comment. "I knew this whole thing was a bad idea today," he groaned. "Somebody probably punched him out in front of all the kids."

"But mom is laughing," Nicki reminded. "She never texts that unless she means it. It can't be bad, right?"

"Nicki, how long have you been in this family? You've met your Uncle Danny, right? Does he ever listen to anyone? How bad could it be? Seriously? If Pop is buying the ice cream for both teams, it's because your Grandpa forced him to so he could stop a riot. I just hope we're not gonna be reading about another NYPD vs FDNY brawl in the paper tomorrow."

Frank was ready with an explanation the minute he heard Jamie's car pull up in the driveway. "It's fine," he assured as he waited for them on the porch. "Like your sister said everyone was laughing by the time they left the field. Now, how is my granddaughter?" he demanded as he looked with concern at the lethargic little girl in his youngest's arms as she barely peeked her eyes open at the sound of his voice.

"Wiped out on high-test Benadryl," his son explained. "They said she'll probably sleep the rest of the afternoon. I'm supposed to put some cold packs on the bites."

"Bring her in and put her down in the living room. I'll get you some out of the freezer," Frank urged. "Danny will want to see her. Nicki, if you want to run up to the park, Pop will buy for you too."

"What's up with that, Dad?" Jamie sighed as his niece dashed off, expecting he would have to call for a team meeting to apologize for his brother's sideline behavior. "What did he do?"

"Well, Rourke challenged us and said we needed a coach with a card or it would be a forfeit, so your brother stepped in to help the kids on the field," his father revealed.

"Danny?!" Jamie gasped. "Oh no, Dad how could you?! I thought you took over!"

"Don't worry, it worked out. There was even talk of a rematch for next year."

"Between us and the smoke eaters?"

"I think just about everyone would be willing to pay good money to see that again, son," Frank revealed with a sly grin.

"Really? The kids were that good? I mean I know we've been practicing hard…"

"Well, that little number 7 you have, Colin? He's got quite a strong foot for a young man."

"Well, yeah he does, but I'm trying to get him to shoot with his laces. He toes the ball when he tries to kick too hard and it goes wild. He doesn't always listen to me."

"Oh, he listened to the coach today, that's for sure," Frank revealed as they made their way through the kitchen. "And his aim was dead on. He was the star of the show. Probably saved the day."

"So what was the score?"

"We beat them by a landslide… 5-1," Frank divulged.

"And the FDNY parents were okay with that? That doesn't make any sense, Dad. You're sure? I mean whenever we get up by a couple goals or so I usually have the kids practice passing back and stuff. I hate running the score up."

"No, they were getting upset of course that your brother was 'inflating' things until… well, until he sort of got what he asked for," Frank revealed as they walked into the living room to find an ashen-looking Daniel Reagan propped on the couch with his feet up on the ottoman and his own ice pack on a rather delicate low-lying area.

"Huh?" Jamie puzzled until a big smile washed across his face as the realization hit him and he pictured the scene that had diffused the situation. "Colin, right? He told him to kick it as hard as he could, didn't he?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Uncle Danny have an ouchie, too? Him be okay?" Kaylin mused sleepily as she looked up and rubbed her eyes.

"Yes, little bug… ah, cuteness," Danny corrected on the fly with a new nickname in deference to the day's events. "Uncle Danny is gonna be fine as long as I get a hug and cuddle from you," he admitted with an embarrassed frown as he reached for the tired little girl and she curled up on the couch next to him with a pillow as Jamie and Frank carefully arranged the cold packs over her multitude of bites and a blanket to keep her comfortable.

"She had a lot of antihistamines," Jamie warned his brother as he made a valiant effort to choke back his laughter. "She'll be out for a while."

"I don't mind… it's not like I'm going anywhere soon thanks to that punk little kid..." Danny sighed as he settled back down with his arm wrapped protectively around her. "What?" he snarked back as he saw his little brother grinning at him.

"Tough man… hugs and cuddles. Taken down by a four-year-old. Boy if that ever got out around the 5-4..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, live it up," Danny growled. "Now get out of here and let the injured rest in peace," he demanded as both Jamie and Frank stifled a few more chuckles as they walked back to the kitchen to decompress after a trying day. "Missed out on our ice cream and everything, didn't we little girl? And they're laughing at us," he griped as he snuggled down and closed his eyes while his own heavy handful of over-the-counter pain meds hit him. "S'not right," he admonished as her soft snores enveloped him. "You and me have a date at the 'Blue Moo' too for chocolate milkshakes just as soon as we're feeling better," he assured as he drifted off thinking that maybe Linda wasn't so far out in left field with wanting one of these of their own.

###

"She's still sleeping?! You sure she's okay? Maybe we should go look…" Eddie fretted before being unceremoniously pulled back in the kitchen after she glimpsed Danny and Kaylin still sacked out together in the living room.

"I told you she was fine the seventh, eighth and ninth time you called to check, Edit Katalin," Jamie assured as he forced his wife to sit back down at the table now that she had returned from duty at the 12th. "You're lucky you didn't wind up with a rip of your own today."

"Oh, I had nothing better to do," Eddie assured as she gave her father-in-law and ultimate boss a sheepish grin and an explanation. "Righetti and I ended up babysitting an EDP at the ER for like four hours before the doc would sign off and admit him. You would have thought that the fact he was wearing nothing… and by that I mean absolutely _nothing_ other than a sheer red lingerie nightie with feather pom pom trim top and a thong while he stood in the street and demanded that a cab take him to Washington for his date with the president might have been a clue. Righetti's gonna have nightmares about this one for weeks," she snickered. "He insisted we hose out the back of the car when we got back. The nurses felt sorry for me so I got to eat a three-pack of nummy mint-flavored jello and I don't even feel sick this afternoon for once!" she hyped.

"Well that's good to hear," Henry grunted as he joined them after his own nap in the sunroom. "I got taken for $85 by this one here when he volunteered me to buy for both teams," he griped. "Show of good faith, he said. Shoulda come out of your own wallet then. That damn Stanley Rourke and his side were the instigators, not me! And a timeout? That's the best idea you had, Francis? Lucky we didn't have to call Eddie or Linda to come bail the whole family out of jail this afternoon."

"What did you want me to say in front of everyone? Those red knee-high sons of bitches deserve to get their asses kicked? Because that's basically what Danny was thinking."

"Maybe it's time to reconsider starting that bail fund again," Jamie mused. "I mean we have a whole new generation of troublemakers that could use it. Heck, even Nicki would have wiped it out already," he snickered when he considered Erin's reaction to his niece's recent arrest on unwarranted drug charges and then sighed as Eddie got up to peek in on Kaylin again.

"Still sleeping," she frowned. "You're sure that she's okay? I mean the two of them look so comfy there together… I hate to disturb them."

"She's fine for the eleventh time, Edit Katalin," Jamie huffed. "Uncle Danny's got her."

"He is really good with kids," Eddie agreed. "I mean I know it was almost a PR disaster at the game today, but I'm so glad he was willing to step up for them when Jamie had to leave. Jack and Sean are lucky to have a dad like that. Too bad he doesn't have a daughter of his own though. I could see him being a big soft squishy marshmallow with a girl."

"Linda always wanted another," Frank mused thoughtfully as he considered for the first time the possible cause behind the renewed tension between his oldest and his wife as he regarded a glowing, happy Eddie in front of him, and suddenly the look on Linda's face at Sunday dinner the week before was all too familiar… it was the same one Mary had worn for years whenever she was reminded that her dream for a fourth child was likely for naught after the two miscarriages they had endured.

"Interesting…" he murmured as he considered the possible changes coming to the Reagan family over the course of the next several months.

* * *

 _That snapshot is dedicated to my son, who took down his coach in a similar fashion during his first-ever soccer game. Poor man spent several minutes off the field behind the goal throwing up and trying to recompose himself, and to this day ten years later the kids still play on the same team and he has yet to live that one down, especially with the other dads, lol. Brutal. The hornets were for me, just had my own unfortunate run in with those damn buggies from hell recently, and most of us have been there when the wheels have come off the ground at a kids sporting event, so I can just imagine the competitive Reagan family being the same, especially against the dreaded smoke eaters._

 _Next up (if I get time to write it this week!) will most likely be a one-shot featuring our favorite dynamic duo of Jamie and Renzulli as we go back in time to the point prior to the wedding where they make up in a familiar fashion upon Sergeant Reagan's return to the 3-5 after his frying-pan induced concussion courtesy of Linda and Jared Quinlan._


	20. The Boys are Back

Chapter 20

The Boys are Back

 _The Jared Quinlan situation in "It's all in the name…" left a good number of our characters at odds with one another during that story including Jamie and former staunch friend and mentor now-Lieutenant Anthony Renzulli who were two of the last to resolve their differences. This one-shot chronicles how they did so in a familiar fashion once Sergeant Reagan returned to action at the 3-5._

* * *

"JESUS MIGHTY, REAGAN! Have you looked at this new CompStat Auditing Guide that just came down from the holy mount?" Lieutenant Anthony Renzulli griped as he paused in the doorway of Jamie's office at the 3-5 while waving a thick handbook in front of him. "Hot off the presses! Eighty-four pages of changes for 'internal-auditing and quality-control processes,'" he opined. "Updates to every damn step of the process on top of them rolling out new Omniform software and complete with a goddamn four-page flowchart! They're even color-coding our DD-5's now! How the hell am I supposed to get these humps to remember if they're supposed to use blue, pink or green when I'm lucky enough to get their reports filed in the first place!"

"Blue's are for officers to upgrade charges so affect CompStat reporting," Jamie replied flatly as he rolled his chair back without looking up and flipped another file into his completed bin. "Pink's are for detectives to add details that aid the investigation of the crime but do not alter its classification. Changes to a filed complaint report require supervisory sign-off before they can take effect. Simple," he added as he went back to his paperwork. "There are no greens."

"Humph! Well, maybe I was just trying to see if you were still capable of paying attention to what I tell ya, Harvard!" Renzulli huffed with a frown as he was subtly called out by his junior officer when, in fact, he had yet to digest any degree of this official jibber jabber. Of course the college boy already had it memorized and indexed in that great big oftentimes irritating brain of his.

"Yes, sir," came the polite by-the-numbers protocol response once more that nearly drove the new Lieutenant to spit nails. As far back as he could remember, the kid almost never referred to him as 'sir,'... Sarge, now LT, sure, but not _sir!_ Not with that tone! Although Jamie had somehow managed to thwart the concussion protocol testing earlier in the week and get himself reinstated for duty a little too soon after more than a month-long absence following the death of Lieutenant Carson and the subsequent manhunt for the cop-killer Jared Quinlan stalking him, Renzulli was determined that in no way, shape or form would he allow his former boot to step foot out onto the street until he had satisfied himself that the younger man was indeed fully recovered from the rather hard knock on the noggin that his sister-in-law Linda had purposefully inflicted upon him in a successful effort to spare his life when Quinlan had taken her, Eddie and Kaylin hostage that night nearly two weeks ago at the new home. As of today, the rather impressive technicolor bruise that had adorned the side of Jamie's face since the incident had finally faded down to a less noticeable array of greens and yellows while it healed and his CO was getting closer to unclipping the tight leash that had bound the younger officer to his desk all week without one anticipated comment or complaint about it forthcoming thus far.

If the goal was psychological warfare, it was working.

So while NYPD Sergeant Jamison Reagan was back in the building and had seemingly managed to retain most of his wits and faculties despite recent events, the close relationship he once shared with his former TO had not shown any signs of returning since Renzulli had been abruptly uprooted and promoted to the 3-5 as Jamie's immediate superior again and asked by a worried father and Police Commissioner to yank the kid's badge and gun in order to force him into therapy with the department shrink. The older man had done so with a heavy heart while knowing it was for Jamie's own good, and indeed had apparently accomplished whatever goal was in Frank Reagan's mindset at the time, but it had left the once tightly knit partners, colleagues and friends estranged at the moment as whatever forgiveness Jamie had running through his system had not yet made it as far as the corner office down the hall that once housed his most recent mentor, Robert Carson.

"Well, since you've obviously read and memorized all this craptasticola already, I'm sure you got to the point where it says each precinct will now appoint a Crime Analysis Team of a sergeant and several other officers to review all the complaint reports entered the previous day for accuracy before they are submitted electronically to the big kahunas uptown," Renzulli questioned as he pursed his lips and watched Jamie's shoulders fall as added hours of paperwork and responsibility were heaped on him which he knew were meant to keep him off the street for even longer. "Since this all has a distinct reek of that rookie George Mahoy you turned into some kind of CompStat guru to the brass stars at 1PP, guess who gets that job here? Ah... that would be you, Junior," he added as he stepped into the room and tossed the 300-page addendum binder onto the desk. "Sort that out and set it up. Until then you're still confined to the house and remember to keep me in the loop!" he barked as he walked out and retreated down the hall in a huff.

Two could play at this game.

###

"Oh, Jamie," Eddie sighed as she walked in the house after her own second shift tour closed out after midnight and she arrived home to find her exhausted fiancé slumped over in an uncomfortable-looking manner on the couch, practically buried under a massive official NYPD binder of some sort with his laptop sitting on the coffee table open to some mind-numbing legal contract from Sevinnova and a large bottle of Motrin next to half a bottle of water. Jamie had been warned by the doctors that his concussion was nothing to fool with and he should not be straining himself with too much concentrated reading while still suffering from the side effects including the more-than-occasional nasty mind-splitting headache. A quick check upstairs revealed Kaylin was tucked snugly under her covers with a pair of unrepentant green iridescent eyes blinking back into the hallway light from the foot of the bed. All was obviously well with the little girl and her four-legged self-appointed furry bodyguard so Eddie headed back down to disengage her love from the tangle of work he was nearly obscured by.

"Hey," she cajoled as he stirred when she pulled the heavy folder off his chest. "You need to go upstairs to bed and sleep. You're pushing yourself way too hard already," she added as she could clearly read the pained expression on his face as his eyes failed to focus on her at first. "And why are you bringing work home from the precinct already?" she demanded with a frown as she noted the contents he had been studying. Wilson likewise had offered a few choice words himself about one George Mahoy and this very subject that afternoon as he had also been pegged by the brass at the 12th to head up the new CAT project there. "Renzulli knows you shouldn't even be on modified assignment yet, why would he give this to you? Or did you volunteer?… Stubborn Reagan pride…"

"M'm fine," he interrupted with a barely concealed lie and a stretching rub of the temples. "I quit as soon as it started to hurt; I swear, Ed. I just had to get back to work after all that time… you know that."

"I know that the doctor told you in no uncertain terms that your big bruised over-inflated brain needed heal up first or you were playing with fire. Remember, I had a concussion like that too, and for the life of me I don't know how you fooled that computer for the impact testing, but it was a stupid thing to do," she worried as she pulled him forward a little so she could slip in behind on the cushion and wrap her arms around him. "A few more days at home resting wouldn't have mattered, right?"

"It's my command," Jamie explained as he relaxed back against her and savored her soft touches which were methodically easing the stiffness out of his sore, cramped up neck and shoulders. "They took it from me over all of this, and I had to show the platoon that I wasn't a fragile egg that needed daddy to hire a babysitter," he added with a little remaining contempt, referring of course to Renzulli's appointment.

"Okay, but if you drop over at your desk because you did too much, too soon, it's not gonna look really good for you either, right? I mean it wasn't his idea to get transferred to the 3-5 or do what he did… you've worked things out with your dad and he's the one that put the Sarge, I mean the Lieutenant there and had him pull your badge so why are you still holding it against him? You've always loved working with Renzulli… I was kinda jealous of him," Eddie admitted after a long pause as she continued her increasingly deep massage while a portion of the tension from the past six weeks started to seep out of his rigored muscles. "Geez, Jamie, you're like an old pine plank back here with all these knots," she chided before explaining. "When you left the 12th... you and I… we weren't partners anymore, or anything for a while, but no matter what you always paired up with him like peas in a pod… the boys in the band… two sides of the same coin…"

"Alright, I get it, I get it," he laughed and then grimaced as she hit a particularly sore spot right above his shoulder blade before leaning back into it. "I don't know, I guess he was my partner all those years, and I felt like he sold out to the other side instead of having my back, and then kinda swooped in and took everything away I worked so hard for… I suppose it wasn't his fault though," he paused as he considered that fact. "You were really jealous of him?" he inquired again with a raised eyebrow as he waited for her to knead the tight kink out. "'Cause that's kind of funny considering I was picturing a guy that looks just like that when I heard I had a ride with a certain Eddie Janko," his snicker fading off into a moan as she increased the pressure to a point of delicious agony. "Ow! Ow! Ed, oh, God…" he trailed off as he went limp and his eyes rolled back in his head. "That's… so incredibly… painful…" he gasped. "Don't... stop..."

"What was that you said about me looking like a middle-aged short thick Italian man from Brooklyn?" she demanded in a breathy voice into his ear as her little shiatsu-like thumbs drove hard into the insertion points of his locked up muscle without mercy and waited for a count of twenty until it released.

"I really have... no... idea... what we... were just... talking about," he finally offered as his senses dulled while a blissfully intense rush of endorphins flooded his system taking away the pain in his head as well. "Oh, Ed… uh… who taught you to... ah, whatever that was... never mind, please... do it again... on the other side…" he begged in a barely managed whisper. "Now… what were you saying?..."

"Renzulli," Eddie replied with a knowing smirking grin behind his back after a repeat performance on his left shoulder had Jamie laying in a completely relaxed puddled heap in her lap, high on his own body chemistry with his eyes closed. _Superman, meet kryptonite,_ she thought. Perfect.

"What about him?"

"You need to make up with him, Reagan," she advised as her attentions turned to rubbing soft, relaxing circles across his chest with a mind to taking this a little further upstairs once she got the desired promise to resolve this conflict out of him. "Kaylin needs her Uncle Tony and Auntie Adele, and he did have your back, always will. He even spent three days upstate with Danny trying to save your handsome ass. That's really saying something since he's not really a founding member of the Detective Reagan personal fan club, is he? Besides, you know you love the guy…"

"Maybe I'll send him candy and flowers…"

"I mean it, Jamie," Eddie insisted softly as she continued to soothe to keep him in this most pliable and receptive state since it was the first time she had managed to get him to open up and be agreeable about this issue. "All of this won't be behind us until the two of you have your mojo back. He is your boss again, and the wedding is coming up… you can't let this drag on. If you want things to go back to the way they were between the two of you… figure out one of those guy things to do that shows him all is forgiven without having to use your words like normal human beings…"

"Make that a cheesesteak from the food truck on 19th…"

"No, c'mon be serious, you know… like your dad always says, you can't apologize like that."

"I can't?"

"Not between men. Not over something like this."

"What then?"

"I don't know... you need to show him somehow that you appreciate the things that he taught you. You're like his special little prodigy out there… like the Karate Kid... Danielson and Mr. Miyagi… you know, wax on, wax off," poor Eddie desperately reasoned as she was now well out of the realm of her comfort zone and grasping at straws here on the hidden language of men if she was quoting from old classic movies with no other clear way to get her message across at this late hour. "You need to flatter him," she added as an afterthought.

"How is that an apology?"

"You show the respect that you didn't show when you did the thing you want to apologize for. Nobody gets all mushy, nobody has to hug it out. Trust me on this. Go talk to your dad, he'll tell you the same thing."

"Well, Renzulli does like hot dogs," Jamie grinned as he had to admit Eddie had a point without giving her the satisfaction of knowing she was right and had gotten one over on him.

"Oh, for crying out loud, I give up," she sighed as she pushed him away and got up. "I tried, now let's go to bed."

###

"REAGAN!" Lieutenant Renzulli huffed more than a week later as he exited his air-conditioned car on the steamy corner of 19th and Amsterdam where Jamie and his trainee for the week, probationary Officer Patrick Sullivan, stood waiting outside their RMP which was parked in the shade. "You want to tell me why I was 10-85'd to this position on your request when the two of you are just standing around outside this blue and white easy-bake oven catching up on paperwork?" he growled irritably as despite the fact he had finally released the hound, as it were, back on the street for normal patrol duty, this uncomfortable tension with Sergeant Jamison Reagan had yet to be resolved.

"I just wanted to inform you that operation 3-5 Bear was completed, sir," Jamie replied in that still-irritating ultra-polite by-the-book stiff-backed tone he had maintained with his CO over the course of the past few weeks.

"3-5 Bear?"

"Codename for the C-A-T precinct CompStat Crime Analysis Team review," Jamie explained with just a hint of a smirk now glimmering in his hazel eyes. "Officers Walters, Patterson, Reilly and Peters have been thoroughly prepped and assigned a revolving schedule with myself to make sure all online complaint reports including the seven major index crimes have been compared to the scratch copy and classified correctly, with follow up from arresting officers and complainants if necessary before being forwarded to you for final approval and entry. I wanted to keep you in the loop, _sir,"_ he finished smartly although resisted the urge to throw in a sharp salute which by the looks of him would have no doubt pushed his former TO off the edge.

"Yeah, well I figured that out from the sixty-odd goddamn color-coded emails with priority headings that ended up on the top of my inbox every morning for the past two days now!" Renzulli griped while he paused to wipe the sweat off his brow as despite an early morning thundershower, the humidity and heat had intensified on the mid-summer day and the last place he really wanted to be was out on the street here sweating through his crisp white lieutenant's shirt and adding to Adele's growing difficult laundry pile, which had been her chief complaint so far regarding his recent promotion as dark blue made it so much easier to hide the inevitable sweat stains from his hot Italian bloodline.

"I'm sorry, sir, but it's also come to my attention that we might have a highly credible illicit sale situation here that should be addressed immediately," his junior officer revealed as he nodded knowingly down the block and Renzulli's eyes followed before alighting on something familiar standing in front of one of the eating establishments there. "Know what I mean?" Jamie prodded with a raised eyebrow as the two men struggled to contain their smiles at this point while a familiar memory washed over both of them and all the existing tension between the pair vanished immediately. Eddie had been right, this approach was definitely the way to go, not that she would ever find out about that last part, her soon-to-be-husband vowed silently.

"Yeah…" Renzulli trailed off in his patented Brooklynese with a rub of the chin. This was going to be fun and well worth the inevitable rebuke from his wife that evening. "HEY PROBIE!" he barked at Sullivan who went ramrod straight at the unexpected tone from his superior. "HOT DOG, 12 O'CLOCK!"

"Sir?" the nervous young officer responded while he broke out in his own pattern of sweat as if it hadn't been bad enough to be paired up with the Police Commissioner's youngest son the past few sweltering days. "No thanks… um, we just ate lunch," he squawked.

"Nah, suspicious hot dog," Renzulli informed as he directed the kid's attention down to the next block where a costumed character was outside in the boiling heat apparently trying to direct lunchtime traffic off the street and into the cooler confines a sports pub.

"Seriously?" Sullivan questioned as he stared blankly at the man and then glanced back and forth between his Sergeant and Lieutenant's stern faces to discern if he was indeed being punked or hazed in some kind of clandestine NYPD fashion.

"Think we're kidding?!" Jamie snapped in a similar tone as he joined forces with his CO and kept the rookie on edge.

"Son, the sandwich-wearing class is well-known to be problematic," Renzulli explained as he turned the young officer by the shoulder to face their quarry. "They hide all kinds of contraband up there. Look at him," he prodded as the man glanced at them and shied away from the direct eye-contact of the three NYPD officers. "He's getting nervous."

"He doesn't look nervous," the probie gulped uncomfortably himself.

"Yes, he does; the Lieutenant is right," Jamie urged. "Now, go question him!"

"I'm not gonna question some poor guy wearing a hot dog costume," Sullivan balked despite the direct orders of his two superiors. Jamie had chosen him specifically for this mission after scouting the entire precinct for the right officer and opportunity to carry out his plan as the young man and current-year Academy graduate appeared to be as morally bound and rule-abiding as he had once been when he was a fresh-faced newbie.

"See, _that_ is key, kid," Renzulli continued the timeless familiar banter as he continued to push Sullivan a few steps closer. "Why else would someone take a humiliating job in this heat unless there's some upside to it?"

"Unemployment?" the young officer countered as he continued to resist and dig his heels into the sidewalk.

"Stop him, question him, frisk him. Go ahead!" Jamie ordered once more.

"Isn't this an abuse of the policy?"

"He looks suspicious. We have an obligation to check it out. Don't we? Didn't your Sergeant teach you that yet, huh?" Renzulli offered in a tone that let the young man know he wasn't getting out of this situation with anything less than what they were demanding.

"Oh, come on," Sullivan sighed. "Yes, sir… I mean sirs," he finally added with a painful concession and one final pleading look.

"Hey, do your job, rookie," Jamie advised as he refused to give in. "Come on! Go get him!" he urged as the disguised man sensed their intent at this point and threw his board down on the ground in attempt to lighten the load and make a run for it.

"What did we tell you? Go ahead!" Renzulli smirked as he watched Sullivan sprint across the intersection while glancing behind and then proceed down the block to tackle the perp to the ground with small bags of contraband flying out of the suit's many orifices.

"He's got a whole drugstore here!" the rookie gasped in amazement as he struggled to subdue the heavily padded man. "Quit moving!" he ordered.

"Let me go!"

"Settle down. Put your hands behind your back."

"Come on, let me go. I didn't do anything!"

"Stop moving! You got any weapons?"

"No, I got no weapons. Let me go!"

"Got anything else you're not supposed to have? Quit moving around!"

"Hey! What did I tell you, huh? Look at all this stuff," Renzulli gloated as he and Jamie walked up and started gathering the multitude of little baggies laying about.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Let's go. Get up, Mr. Wiener," Jamie advised as he helped Sullivan pull the still-resistant man to his feet. "Settle down!" he commanded. "We caught you with a cache of illegal prescription drugs."

"Hydrocodone, oxycodone…" Renzulli droned on.

"I don't know where they came from. The suit belongs to the restaurant!"

"Yeah, everybody's a comedian," the lieutenant offered. "Get him out of that thing before you put him in the back of the car or we'll be in hot water with 1PP for steaming the sausage in this weather," he chuckled as he elbowed Jamie in the ribs. "You get it? Hot water? Steaming the sausage? Huh? Book that dog!"

"I get it, sir," Jamie forced an obvious laugh. "Ha ha. Very, very funny... isn't it Sullivan? Now c'mon, the wiener's going for a ride. Take him up to the car," he advised his rookie partner as he stood on the sidewalk next to his old TO and watched as the young officer pushed their charge up the street towards the RMP.

"I think it's very funny, personally, Sergeant Reagan," Renzulli observed before pausing. "We good now?" he queried. "Because Adele is dying to visit her goddaughter and take her shopping to wear out my charge card again."

"I'd say so, Boss," Jamie advised with a new term of endearment as his tone had finally softened and drifted back to the their normal friendly type banter. "You know our friends are always welcome over at the house."

"I expect the kid's gonna get the get the credit for this bust, right?"

"Check the DD-5's tomorrow," Jamie smiled. "Top of the list in blue."

* * *

 _So of course a lot of the dialogue in that last part came directly from S01:05 episode of "What You See," which contains the infamous hot dog chase scene that I think is one of the best moments between Jamie and Renzulli the show has ever captured, so recreating it was a fitting guy-type way for them to make up in werks-world without using their words like normal humans as Eddie put it, lol._

 _The next Snapshot II will have to be a bit of a mystery. I have several others already written but they take place closer to the time when the next installment opens on that upcoming Thanksgiving Day as the Reagans and Eva Janko gather for dinner once more to kick things off, so I think I will hold off on posting them until the end of this run so there is a natural flow into the next piece as we jump around a little here. I do have many suggestions for topics from the younger Reagan years including a few more sibling clashes as well as a Henry/Betty story that I really want to do, a multi-shot covering Mary's passing and Jamie's subsequent sleepwalking episode plus a few others. So I am not completely sure when the next chapter will post, or what the content might be, but I do have a lot of material to cover at the same time I am writing "Resurgence" which is coming along now and want to thank my loyal readers and reviewers for continuing to make these stories fun to do!_


	21. Goody Two-Shoes (Part I)

Chapter 21

Goody Two-Shoes (Part I)

 _I had a request for a piece that includes Erin and explains what happened that mysterious time revealed during the S:03:15 "Warriors" episode with the driving lessons when her little brother was compelled to lie for her to explain the dent in the family car when she "allegedly" tried to hit an ex-boyfriend, although I've adjusted the facts a little to suit my needs by making it Mary's vehicle instead of Frank's as mentioned in order to include more interaction with her and the kids. So this is a rare, but fun five-part quintuple-shot as Reagan tempers flare when a late-night traffic stop drives a wedge between a pair of siblings and Jamie and his sister are forced to step back in time to relive a childhood trauma they both would rather forget._

* * *

"So any big plans for the rest of this weekend, Annabel?" Jamie asked as he climbed back in the RPM's passenger side while reaching for his shoulder radio. It was nearly halfway through their midnight tour and the pair had just completed a late Friday night prisoner drop to the 8-1 of North Brooklyn which was located well above their usual Midtown Manhattan territory. "Central, 3-5 Sergeant, show us 10-61 until zero four hundred hours."

"10-4, 3-5 Sergeant," came the reply over the air.

"Let's get home, Officer Anderson," Jamie ordered with a small yawn as he settled in for the ride, content to be a passenger more and more as he allowed his feisty redheaded rookie to take over the wheel on almost every occasion now.

"Yes, sir," Annabel replied as she pulled away from the curb. "And no, sir… no plans for today or tomorrow except to catch up on sleep and laundry at home. Maybe check out the new apartment listings to see if anything reasonable materialized in my price range," she sighed. "Not like that's gonna happen though."

"Getting a little old staying with the 'rents, huh?" Jamie chided as he remembered the trials of trying to live independently on a rookie's salary while paying off his student loans to boot.

"Over two thousand a month for a little studio in Flatbush if it's bigger than a broom closet," the ambitious Annabel lamented as she carefully cruised down the street, all the time keeping a pointed lookout for trouble even while out of their usual patrol area. "Pops won't even let me consider it, and he'd never let me move further… always wants to keep tabs on me and who I might be seeing. Not that there's much to talk about with that either," she griped. "One look at my ex-football defensive lineman papa whenever I bring somebody home is usually enough to make 'em run for the hills if the fact that I walk a beat and carry a gun every day hasn't already accomplished that goal."

"Oh, well I don't think that ever goes away for daddy's little girl," Jamie laughed as he remembered his sister's trials of dating considering the family of cops she came from and particularly their father's most intimidating presence which he had to admit was sadly self-lacking. Still there was always Frank himself or Uncle Danny, plus of course Eddie who tended not to hold back if something threatened their little girl, and if that failed an introduction to Eva would surely cut the pack down to all but the bravest suitors. "Kaylin will not be dating until she's thirty," he assured though.

"Sure, you keep believing that, _dad,"_ she quipped back. "We girls have our ways, although I imagine you Reagans have most of those covered…" she trailed off before catching sight of an altercation up ahead at the next intersection as the light changed to red and the pair witnessed a minor tap from behind a few cars in front of them before the agitated lead driver jammed on the brakes and flung the door open to his pickup truck, waving his hands and shouting as he walked back and approached a small silver sedan still in the roadway that had just turned the four-way flashers on. "Uh oh, looks like road rage at twelve-o'clock, sir," she offered as Jamie flipped the siren to offer a 'blip blip' warning while turning the lights on to illuminate the street as they pulled up to a stop behind the incident and the other vehicles cleared ahead.

"Oh, cripes; over a nothing fender-bender," Jamie sighed as he took in the man's state which he was betting was likely inebriated given the late hour. "Central, 3-5 Sergeant, show us 10-53, corner of Nostrand and Halsey Avenue. Annabel, take the driver in the sedan," he added after that was acknowledged. "I'll handle King Kong up front. Watch my six though," he warned.

"Yes, sir," she answered as the pair exited the RMP and approached the accident with Jamie barely glancing over at the car as he kept his attention fully focused on the tall and heavily built twenty-something white male cowboy-type screaming and cursing at the far front.

"ARE YOU EFFING BLIND?!" the man railed as he stood at the front of the car examining the vehicles for possible damage which appeared to be minimal and contained to a barely dented front grill for the car since the jacked-up super duty truck was sporting a heavy drop hitch behind and the rest of it had not been touched. "THE LIGHT WAS RED!"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and step over to the side here!" Jamie directed even as he kept his hand resting on the butt of his gun while he observed the reaction as Annabel approached the driver of the sedan, a young brunette with shortish cropped hair who had just covered up her face with her hands in disbelief.

"License, registration and proof of insurance, please," the rookie ordered as she stood at the window while keeping a wary eye on the action ahead of her.

"What's your problem? She drove right into the back of me! I stopped for the goddamn light!" the irate truck driver continued. "Why aren't you arresting her? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"That might have been the case, but I'm gonna charge _you_ with disorderly conduct for starters if you don't ramp it down right now!" Jamie barked as he flashed his light around. "I'm looking at the damage here, sir, and frankly I don't see where that's going to be worth a trip down to Central Booking and a court appearance considering your truck doesn't have a scratch and there is minor dent to the front of the sedan. License, registration and proof of insurance, please," he continued to growl as the man suddenly thought better in compliance and Jamie followed him up to the front of the cab, surprised in all honesty that the guy had toned down the unnecessary rhetoric and cooperated that quickly without further protest or seemingly a whiff of alcohol on his breath. No doubt that would have been a very different story if the pair of officers hadn't been present immediately at the scene given the state he appeared to be working up to.

"Sergeant Reagan, I think we might have a bit of a situation here," Annabel advised as she surprised him by stepping forward a few minutes later.

"And what might that be, Officer Anderson?" he questioned without taking his eyes off the mountainous male now fumbling through his glove compartment.

"Our second driver, sir… well, um, here. You should see this," she offered as she handed over the young woman's driver's license.

"Keep a watch on him," Jamie ordered as he pulled his flashlight up and illuminated the card. The name Nicole Reagan-Boyle and her obviously familiar smiling photo immediately jumped out at him. "Nicki? What the hell?! This hour up here in Bed-Stuy?" he muttered under his breath as he turned around to direct an icy glare at his niece through the windshield. "Officer Anderson, please run Mr. Wittman's license and process his statement," he advised after being handed the requested documentation a few moments later by the now more-subdued and contrite party. "You, Mr. Wittman, go sit quietly in the truck," he ordered. "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of _this,"_ he muttered under his breath as he turned to stride around to the driver's side of the sedan with his hands on his hips.

"Uncle Jamie, I can explain!" Nicki offered immediately from her seat behind the wheel.

"Almost four in the morning, up here in your mom's car when I know she's away at a conference in Albany until tonight… you're damn right you better explain!" he gruffed. "Please tell me you weren't out at a party drinking and thought it would be cool to take a cruise!"

"I wasn't! I mean I was at a party, but I was the designated driver tonight! I only had one beer, and that was hours ago!" she swore. "I just dropped off my friend Billy Thompson over on Putnam Avenue and I was going home! I looked down for like a second when my phone buzzed and I didn't see that idiot stop before it was too late!"

"That idiot had a red light, Nick," Jamie huffed at what he perceived was a lack of genuine remorse in her tone. "We were two cars behind you when it happened, and given the way he got out of the vehicle, it's lucky for you we were!"

"Yeah, but nobody expects someone to slam on the brakes like that way back here!" she insisted.

"Well he did, and you failed to stop. That gets you a citation for following too closely," he informed her with a continued frown for her insolence, which was quite frankly rankling him at the moment. "Or did you forget everything I taught you in those driving lessons? You're at fault no matter which way you play it."

"You're gonna write me up?!" Nicki gasped in disbelief. "Seriously? Oh, c'mon, Uncle Jamie! Please! I just tapped him! I heard you tell him there was no damage! I was doing the right thing by driving my friend home tonight! Can't we just forget about it? What about grandpa's courtesy card? This isn't fair! Any other cop would let me go! Uncle Danny would never get me in trouble!"

"Well, I'm not any other cop, and don't ever play the Uncle Danny or commissioner's cards with me, especially when my partner and I just saved your butt from a guy that's three times your size! Even if there's no damage to his vehicle, you've got a nice big baseball-sized dent in the front grill from the hitch. How are you gonna explain that to your mom, huh? Does she even know you have the car out tonight? Besides, Billy Thompson, isn't that the guy she doesn't like? The one with two priors for DWI?"

"She didn't tell me I couldn't have it!" came the still-irreverent answer. "Well not exactly… please! Can't we just not tell her? You know how she'll react; I'll be grounded until I'm thirty! I'll get it fixed before she finds out, I swear!"

"Stay in the car," Jamie advised as he shook his head and walked away for a few seconds to clear it. Truth be told he would have likely let this little bump and kiss slide but for the fact that his niece continued to show little regret for her actions and now let it slip that she intended to keep this from his sister which hit a little too close to home considering a childhood trauma he had honestly not recovered from to this day. "Annabel, did you come up with anything?" he queried his partner as he joined her back at the cruiser where she had just finished running the man's particulars.

"Clean," she reported. "Nothing outstanding; registration, insurance and license valid. No priors... I assume for Ms. Reagan-Boyle too," she added.

"Yeah, not worried about that," he huffed as he clasped his hands behind his neck. "Any alcohol on either of them?" he asked, having not detected any signs himself but knowing that his partner had a gifted nose for that sort of thing that was sharp as a bloodhound's and had proven as reliable as the breathalyzer to this point.

"Negative," she reported.

"Alright, we'll let Wittman off with a stern warning for the temper. I'll handle that. He's lucky he cooled down as fast as he did. Issue Ms. Reagan-Boyle a citation for following too closely, please."

"Sir?" Annabel asked in surprise as she looked up. "That's four points on her license and a $135 fine plus court costs for a first-time offense. You're sure?"

"No, but I'm gonna do it anyway," he sighed. "I'm sure not living through that nightmare again."

###

"Cripes, kid… I gotta hand it to you. I didn't think you'd have the cojones to show up here today," Danny smirked while he greeted Jamie as his brother arrived through the front door at the family home for Sunday dinner with Eddie and Kaylin in tow. "I'd stay out of the kitchen if I were you though. Erin's got a big knife flying around chopping salad… we'll be lucky not to be picking body parts out of it by the time she's done, and Nicki's in the sunroom unloading about it with Pop. Guess who her favorite uncle is now?" he added with a wide grin.

"You would have done the same thing, Danny," Jamie gruffed back irritably as he knew the direction today's conversation would undoubtedly take. "That hour in north Brooklyn? The guy was a real animal, and she didn't even care! She wanted me to lie and cover it up, too! I couldn't do that, especially not in front of my rookie!"

"Oh, no. Don't put this on me. Detectives don't issue traffic tickets, that's for you car jockeys and we all know you'd crack under that kind of pressure anyway… just like the last time," Danny snickered as he headed towards the dining room.

"What's he talking about… the last time?" Eddie questioned as she was busily kneeling down and unzipping Kaylin out of her jacket. She had been fully on Jamie's side when he had come home and revealed the likely cause for upcoming family strife, but then again perhaps it wasn't surprising given her own experience the year before when the DA's office, with her future sister-in-law in charge, had incited a blue flu by arresting a number of cops including herself for the age-old practice of pulling tickets in certain circumstances. Maybe turnaround was fair play although she knew that was not the reason he had done it. "You gave Nicki a summons before? I thought you were the one who taught her to drive?"

"I did teach her, and no… it was Erin, and it wasn't a ticket, and never mind!" Jamie snapped back a little uncharacteristically. "Can we just go eat?" he added before moving off.

"Daddy has a frowny face," Kaylin observed as she hopped down off the landing step holding Eddie's hand. "Him be mad?"

"Oh, maybe just a little today, sweetie," Eddie answered. "But not at us, so let's go mind our manners at dinner and keep it that way. I have a feeling this one could get interesting," she added as followed the little girl into the room.

###

"Nicki, honey… you're going at your food like it's trying to escape," Frank chided as he tried to break the sound of silence in the room which had been eerily quiet after grace with the exception of the somewhat louder than necessary scraping of knives and forks on the dinnerware from a few members of the family in particular.

"Well, maybe Uncle Jamie could write me a ticket for disturbing the peace or something else then too!" his oldest granddaughter remarked flippantly as she continued her assault on the innocent piece of pot roast on her plate. "May I be excused?"

"Dinner just started, so that's a big, fat NO," Erin replied as she buttered her bread with equal vigor, nearly shredding the roll with her efforts. "And I guess we're just lucky that he didn't have to add possession of a stolen vehicle to your rap sheet," she snarked, still livid that her daughter had taken the car out at that hour without permission to meet a boy she had no use for. "Although I bet he was tempted. You should see what this is gonna do to my insurance premiums… Nicki is still on my policy!" she added with a shake of the knife across the table, equally annoyed with her own brother for making the situation a federal case as it were.

"Well then, I suppose I should have just gone along with her when she wanted to lie to you about it in the first place! Typical Erin, always wants it both ways," Jamie unleashed finally as he had taken about enough stares and snide comments from the both of them by this point. "Follow the letter of the law unless it applies to me," he mocked.

"Hey, let's keep it civil," Henry warned with a frown, although he too had been against his grandson's decision not to comp his niece a pass in the first place. Family first, it was against the sacred Reagan blue-blooded code as it were.

"Nicki, I'm sure Jamie was just concerned for you at the time. It sounds like that man could have turned violent and you were out alone late at night after going to a party with a boy that your mother doesn't approve of," Linda advised as she tried to instill a modicum of reason into the conversation.

"Your uncle is right," Danny added his two cents into the already contentious fray. "The DA's always want to tie our hands with following every little rule when it comes to taking down bad guys, unless it hits a little too close to home and then they're ready to duck behind the big blue wall when it suits them. Surprised she didn't tell you to contest the ticket and then try to get Jamie not to show for the hearing so it gets dismissed. Besides, remember that boys," he added as he brought his own two sons to attention. "Your uncle is too much of a goody two-shoes to let you slide on something like this so never get caught doing anything bad when he's on duty."

"Oh, here we go," Jamie sighed as he could see the road his brother was pointedly leading them down.

"What's a goody two-shoes?" Sean asked in confusion. "Is that another name for a cop?"

"No, it's a person that is virtuous… morally and ethically honorable," Linda explained. "It's a saying that comes from a fable about a poor little orphan girl named Margery Meanwell, who went through life with only one shoe, but doing good deeds. When a rich gentleman gave her a complete pair, she was so happy that she told everyone she had "two shoes". Later, Margery become a teacher and was rewarded with wealth for her good works when she married a rich widower."

"Yeah, maybe that's what it means everywhere else except in this family where it's really about what happens when a little do-gooder kid loses one of his brand new baseball cleats defending a helpless maiden's honor and then cracks under the pressure when she turns around and tries to get him to fib about what really happened to keep herself out of trouble."

"Who are you calling helpless?" Erin grumbled as she likewise had no appetite to relive this particular hellish piece of Reagan family lore, especially in front of a daughter she had already punished for a similar offense. "And I didn't need defending."

"You also better have been a maiden at that point," Frank interjected with a growl of his own as he recalled the circumstances.

"Okay, so now I'm thinking this is a story that I really have to hear!" Eddie nodded as her eyes lit up mischievously. "I always told him he was too much of a Boy Scout, now spill," she demanded as she nudged a downturned and red-faced Jamie and looked around the table until her gaze landed on her brother-in-law. "And don't leave out the details."

"Yeah, I want to know what happened too, _Mom,"_ Nicki added with her own contentious frown. "From the way you yelled at me last night I thought _you_ were a little miss goody two-shoes at my age."

"Heh!" Henry snorted from the end of the table. "Lay it on them, Daniel," he encouraged as he sought to even the score for his oldest great-granddaughter's predicament.

"Okay, well once upon a time," Danny started with a wide smile as he sat back and prepared to inflict as much torture on his younger brother and sister as possible. "In a land far… well, actually in this very house… a little eight-year-old boy named Jamison Henry Reagan was bouncing around like he was strung out on Sugar Smacks or something one Saturday morning, bothering his scholarly older brother while he was sitting at the kitchen table working hard at his studies…"

"You were in summer school because you failed the last semester of American History your senior year and you needed the course credit to graduate!" Jamie scoffed. _Scholarly older brother my ass,_ he thought. If there was going to be pain inflicted on this little walk down memory lane, it was going to come on all fronts.

"Dad failed history?" Jack snickered from across the table. "That's like the easiest class!"

"I didn't fail, I just missed a chapter test assignment and had to make it up, and, hey! This is _my_ fairy tale, right?" Danny growled back. "Like I said, this irritating little kid was bouncing off the walls because he had gotten a new pair of super special baseball cleats after the dweeb had all A pluses or something on his report card and he couldn't wait to try them out at practice that morning…"

"You failed, and Mom and Dad grounded you to the house after they found out you wouldn't get your diploma until you made it up," Jamie clarified.

"I got it eventually, didn't I, Harvard?" Danny barked back. "Like I said this brat was only worried about himself and going to practice with all the other little dweebs on his team to show off his precious new shoes, but his daddy had been called into work at his very important job as Chief of Detectives at 1PP and his mommy couldn't drive the car for a few weeks after she had broken her big toe and had a boot on her right foot…"

"Because she kicked the back tire of the Chevelle on the way out of the stadium after graduation once she found out they put a blank piece of paper in your folder," Jamie continued to snipe and fill in the whole picture. "Mom and Dad spent the rest of the night at the ER getting her X-rays."

"So that just left the helpless maiden in the household who had a brand spanking new driver's license, but was grounded in her own right for sneaking out to meet a boy her mommy and daddy didn't like," Danny continued to move on with a flippant eye towards his little brother before settling a self-satisfied grin directly across the table at his scowling sister.

"Mom!" Nicki gasped as she mocked surprise. "How could you ever do such a thing? And you were three years younger than me at the time!"

"C'mon, what happened next?" Eddie prodded as she was completely into this sordid tale and dying to find out what was making her husband squirm so hard in his seat next to her.

"Well, like I said the little kid was relentless, so he somehow talked his mommy into letting the helpless maiden take him to practice, but if you ask him now, I bet he'd say he would have been better off staying at home that day…"

* * *

 _Yup, ending it there for today. Apologies for getting a little behind schedule on my normal weekly updates, but mr. werks had a bit of an oopsie with one of his two-wheeled boy toys and relegated me to chief cook, bottle washer and uber driver for two very active kids for a few weeks, plus I've been on a good run getting in some chapters for "Resurgence," and I've gotta write where my mind is at that point. Came up at a bit of a wall there so it's back for a Snapshot while I percolate on that. Tune back in tomorrow for Part II to see where our little Reagan fairy tale takes us and what exactly happened to the shoes in all this as a virtuous little brother jumps to the defense of his older sister only to find himself strapped with guilt when the whole magical adventure goes awry._


	22. Goody Two-Shoes (Part II)

Chapter 22

Goody Two-Shoes (Part II)

 _The second part of our Snapshot picks up back in time as a persistent little boy convinces his momma to send him to baseball practice with those beloved new cleats while his sister's evil misdeeds land them both up a tree without a shoe, as it were. Well, sort of. You'll see..._

* * *

"But, Momma, I have'ta go today!" a crestfallen little Jamison Reagan pleaded with puppy eyes evident on full force as he begged his mother to allow him to go to practice to show off his new precious baseball cleats, a reward from his grandparents for a near-perfect third-grade final report card. "I told Richie Roberts that I was getting the ones just like Bobby Bonilla wears for the Mets and he won't believe me if I don't come!"

"Well then, Richie Roberts will just have to wait until next time to see them," Mary chided gently as she continued to hobble slowly around the kitchen in her housecoat courtesy of the broken toe she inflicted on herself in light of her oldest son's own academic woes that had left him at the table studying valiantly to pass a makeup chapter test in history scheduled for Monday... his high school diploma held hostage in the meantime. "I'm sorry, honey, but Daddy got called into work again and Grandpa Henry and Grandma Betty took Joey down to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on the Hudson today for his special report card treat. You could have gone with them," she reminded.

"Didn't wanna go see a big dumb boat and the space shuttle," the little boy fretted. "I wanna go to baseball practice!"

"Yes, Jamison, you've made that abundantly clear now," his mother sighed at her youngest's persistence, unfortunately as much as she hated to disappoint him there were no other readily apparent options available at this time. Given the things her husband saw on the job every day, Mary Margaret Reagan was not one of those parents that was comfortable just dropping off a young child at a sports complex alone without someone in constant attendance, and this was a new team for the little boy so she didn't have any trusted friends to rely on to take him.

"Can't I walk to the park? Please Momma! I know the way!" he insisted.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart… not today. Your coach has the team way over at the high school so they can use the batting cages there; that's much too far and you know you're not permitted to walk anywhere by yourself, anyway."

"Aw, phooey!" Jamie railed as that news was just the icing on the top of his pity-party cake. "Everyone else gets to play just like the big guys and take real batting practice," he sulked as he sat down at the table with his head down and the big hazel puppy eyes started to swim in tears. "I'm the only one that has to stay home even though I didn't do anything bad! S'not fair!"

"I can take him, Ma," Danny offered with a contrite and hopeful glance… anything at this point to get away from the house and the hours of mind-numbing reading and memorizing he was being compelled to endure in a required effort to get no less than a B+ on this damn missed test or be forced to repeat the whole class over the entire summer. Let's face it, he thought, it had to be bad if sitting at a two-hour long practice watching little kids swing at a ball with little or no contact ever made sounded like a giant step up on the interesting scale. "I can take my books with me, or I can just drive you and Jamie over there and pick you up when he's done," he added when he saw the first idea certainly wasn't going to have a snowball's chance in hell of approval.

"The baseball fields are too far away from the parking lot for me to walk right now," Mary frowned. "And you're not going anywhere, buster, until you know every single detail of each and every battle in the Civil War including all the general's names and where they went to get their laundry done and pick up milk!" she threatened. "Need I remind you that your acceptance into the Academy this fall hinges on this score, and if you fail to achieve a high enough grade on this test, you can kiss your father's idea of you becoming a police officer goodbye! Your other choice is selling aluminum siding in Jersey with your uncle!"

"Yes, ma'am," Danny relented with a frown as he turned back to his books. Failure again was not an option if he intended to eat solid meals on a regular basis as an adult; he would be a terrible salesman and knew it. "Sorry, kid. I tried."

"I know, Danny. S'okay," Jamie huffed before another amazing idea was sparked. "Momma! Erin can take me! She got her paper to drive the car all by herself this week!"

"Her driver's license? Oh, no honey… Erin needs a lot more practice before she will ever be allowed to take the car anywhere by herself, especially with her little brother in there too," Mary tutted while shaking her head adamantly no and sitting down at the table to join them. "Besides, she'll be lucky if your father lets her out of her room for the rest of the summer considering he caught her sneaking back into the house the other night after going to meet up with that awful Tyler Bonshak. She's grounded, and he forbade her from ever seeing him again. That boy is nothing but trouble."

"Trust me, if Dad wanted to punish Erin he would send her to Jamie's practice. There's nothing she hates more than sitting there and watching little kid baseball," Danny offered while shaking his head. "Besides, it's only three blocks down, make a left and twelve blocks straight ahead to get to the high school. We go there practically every single day, Ma. Dad had her drive it like a thousand times for practice. I think she can handle it." Truth be told, the eldest Reagan sibling felt a bit guilty about his little brother's predicament, considering it seemed like he himself had been the root cause of the majority of it. Besides it would tickle him to no end if he could in some way make his sister's punishment even worse than it already was. Danny was devious like that.

"Please, Momma!" Jamie bounced up with excitement once more before going over to snuggle against her and work those puppies as hard as he had ever done before. "I promise to sit still in the car and not say a single thing while she's driving! Pinkie swear!" he vowed as Mary Margaret Reagan knew she would not be in for a moment's peace until she said yes.

###

"I can't believe you got Mom to agree to this, you little goody two-shoes," Erin sighed as she carefully parked the family car in the shady lot near the athletic fields at the local high school. As Danny had stated, she'd already made that trip a hundred times with her father in the passenger seat for practice, and it was so easy a trained monkey could have accomplished the goal. Still it felt good to be out of the house and away from the overlording presence of her strict parents and their complete "disappointment" with her choice of a current boyfriend, even if it meant being a designated babysitter and sitting on the bleachers watching a dozen and a half little boys overrun the bases and pick flowers in the outfield waiting for some sort of excitement to occur.

"M'm not a goody two-shoes," Jamie insisted as he gathered his practice equipment including his precious pair of authentic Bonilla-approved footwear that were carefully tucked in his duffle bag, destined to only touch the sacred ground of the infield and the soft turf on the grass… definitely not to be worn on anything as abrasive as concrete or asphalt. "But I like my new cleats! Bye, Erin!" he offered before climbing out of the back seat and dashing off across the way towards his teammates in the distance.

"Bye, squirt," Erin sighed as she picked up a couple of hastily gathered fashion magazines to help kill the time and minded her mother's orders of not letting her little brother out of her sight at all, or there would be hell to pay on top of what was already being offered by one very unhappy Francis Reagan who had caught his only daughter returning from a late night front seat rendezvous down the block in Tyler Bonshak's souped-up car a few days ago.

Already overcome by boredom, Erin left the car in the parking lot and slowly strolled towards the back batting cages where Jamie's team was gathered when her eyes lit on a pay phone at the corner of the snack stand. Being grounded at home with a mother that was likewise incapacitated and an older brother chained to the kitchen table and his history book meant there had been no opportunities to use the telephone in the house to call Tyler and explain her sudden absence. With a quick look toward Jamie to make sure he was wholly occupied and unable to later snitch, Erin fished around for some meager loose change in her purse and made her way to the phone, her fingers flying to dial out a familiar number combination as she smirked. She wouldn't put it past her detective dad to pull the luds on the Reagan home phone daily just to make sure she hadn't made any forbidden contact with this heathen of a boyfriend, but he'd never find out about this and Tyler only lived a few blocks away from the school plus he was older and already had his own car.

"Hey, Tyler, it's me," she said breathlessly into the receiver after he picked up the line on the fourth ring.

"Who?" came the disinterested reply back.

"Me... Erin, silly," she giggled while twirling a piece of her long hair around a finger and leaning up against the building. He was always playing games with her like that she told herself.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Forgot. Where you been?" Tyler asked.

"Dad caught me coming back in the house the other night and I got grounded," she revealed. "Sorry, babe. They wouldn't let me call you to explain, but I'm at the high school now for my little brother's baseball practice. Mom let me drive the car here all by myself! Can you come up so we can talk? I don't have enough change to keep putting in the pay phone."

"You're babysitting the little dweeb? Won't he tattle? I don't need your dad coming after me, 'Rin. Maybe we should just can it," he added with a disinterested yawn. "I got other interests and they don't come with a family of cops attached, if you catch my drift."

"Oh, no! Please, Tyler! Just come to the parking lot by the fields! We can sit in the car! I can sort of watch Jamie's practice from there, but he'll never see us! Please! It's our only chance to be together until my dad cools down, and I miss you so much, babe!" Erin begged as she sensed the current love of her life was getting ready to break up with her and it was all her parent's fault for being so ridiculously picky about the type she was allowed to date. Tyler's bad-boy image had been off-putting to them from the start and probably why Erin found him so fascinating.

"Alright, alright. Keep your pants on… or not," Tyler sighed in boredom, wondering if it was worth the effort. Still this Reagan girl was a looker and there was something about putting one over on her top detective daddy and those brothers of hers this way that sparked his attention. "I'll be there in a few."

"Okay, but you have to leave before practice ends at noon so Jamie doesn't see you!"

"Whatever," he said as he hung up and left her eagerly watching the road into the high school for any sign of his car although his intention was to just go round a few bases himself for old time's sake and then kick this cop's chickee to the curb for good.

###

"You had a really good practice today, Jamie. You'll probably be my lead off batter and starting shortstop in next week's game. Just keep working on not swinging at those pitches that are low and outside and you'll do fine."

"Thank you Coach Parker!" Jamie beamed as he was changing his shoes in the dugout and slipping back into his regular sneakers as he vowed to ask Joey to help him work on his hitting every day between now and then. The new cleats had been awesome and made him feel like he had wings on his feet. No balls were gonna get by him in the infield either. He was going to play just like superstar Bobby Bonilla from now on, even if his idol usually roamed right field and there was talk of the slugger being traded to a new team and away from their beloved Mets soon.

"I don't see your mother waiting for you," the coach asked as he searched the area. He had been ordered pointedly by both Frank and Mary at the start of the season to always make sure that Jamie left in the company of a family member, knowing what they did about the state of child predators and the fact that Leo Gate's cold case file from when he had disappeared after walking to school a few years ago still sat in Frank's desk drawer where he could see it every day.

"Oh, Momma couldn't drive me 'cause she hurt her toe," Jamie revealed as he looked around at the emptying stands while his teammates left with their rides. "My big sister Erin brought me…" he trailed off as he scanned the area for her, feeling suddenly sad and a little scared as she was nowhere to be found. "She's probably just waiting at the car, it's right over there," Jamie pointed across the next field which was currently occupied by an older boys team. "I can walk by myself; I'm big," he declared.

"Alright," the coach replied nervously as his next team was already arriving for their scheduled practice while he recalled Frank's intimidating size and occupation. "But I'll watch from here. Turn around and wave and let me know that she's there, okay? And if she's not, you come right back and we'll call your mom from the office."

"Okey dokey," Jamie agreed at that compromise, positive that's where Erin would be waiting since the car was right where she had parked it. "Thank you, Coach Parker," he added before scrambling off on his mission, skirting the big kid's field where they were lined up throwing hard long balls back and forth to each other. Surprisingly the vehicle was still locked and empty when he arrived, and he was just about to turn around and go back to his coach when he saw Erin jump out of the passenger seat of a car parked in a corner spot off to the side and nearly hidden behind a few of the enormous pine trees on the property.

"SHE'S HERE!" Jamie called and waved back to his coach who acknowledged and returned the gesture before moving off to focus on his next set of players. "Erin! You were supposed to come get me like Momma always does…" he chided before trailing off as he noticed his sister was crying and then exactly who had been occupying the other front seat in that car. "Tyler!" he gasped. "But Daddy told you that you weren't allowed to see him anymore! He's gonna be so mad! You'll have to stay in your room all summer!"

"Shut up, dweeb," Tyler drawled as he got out of the car, intent on intimidating this little pipsqueak Reagan so he didn't rat him out. He and Erin had been so caught up arguing with each other they'd lost track of time and he was going to make damn sure not to expect a visit from the NYPD Chief of D's over this. "I was never here, got it? And I ain't gonna see your sister again so you can just forget about it, or I'll come back here and find YOU," he growled as he stepped near Jamie and gave him a hard shove backwards onto the pavement to make his point, spilling some of the contents of his open duffle bag as it fell in the process.

"Huh?" Jamie puzzled and swallowed tightly at the big intimidating now-graduated senior looming over him, while still failing to follow the implied threat logic. Of course Tyler was here, he was standing right in front of him… a fact that no one else apparently noticed as the team of bigger boys had moved off towards the batting cages and there were no other people roaming around this side of the complex.

"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Erin snapped in shock over what had just happened. Reagans might be able to talk smack about each other all day long and get in some real sibling knock down drag outs, but no one dared lay a hand on her little brother like that without catching some of her heavy Irish temper and she was quick to step up and give her ex an equally hard push back against his precious tricked out Chevy Impala SS Supercharged car.

"DID YOU JUST PUT YOUR HANDS ON ME?!" Tyler snarled back and reached forward to grab her wrist roughly and drag her a step or two. "NO ONE DOES THAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

"LET HER GO!" Jamie yelled as he started to scrambled up from the ground and likewise shared the same temperamental overprotective family genes… no one was gonna treat his sister that way either, not if he had anything to say about it, but he was no match for Tyler physically so he improvised on the fly without thinking and grabbed the closest weapon he had available… one of his most precious new Bobby Bonilla-authentic cleats that had fallen out of his bag, and he whipped it with surprising speed and accuracy right at Tyler's nose.

"OW!" the bully roared after the heavy, hard plastic on the bottom of the shoe collided with his face and he let go of Erin's arm, further incensed when a small trickle of blood became evident from the left flaring nostril. "I'M GONNA EFFING KILL YOU!" he raged as he reached down and picked up the cleat before heaving it with all his D1 State Champion shot put throwing full-ride scholarship might right to the top of the nearest fifty-foot Douglas fir where the laces became entangled in the thin, prickly branches and it came to a rest nearly hidden and unreachable against the trunk.

"MY SHOE!" Jamie wailed as he stared up at it from below, appalled at the events that had just taken place and completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to suffer a similar fate before Erin stepped in once more with a threat that had the larger boy backing off, at least for the moment.

"YOU LAY ONE MORE FINGER ON HIM, TYLER BONSHAK, and I will run up to the office right now and call my DADDY to come get you and take you to jail for assault and battery! He'll bring the whole SWAT armored division from Manhattan South with him!" she yelled, not having a clue as to what she was talking about but figuring she needed to make it sound good to buy a little time to get the both of them out of there before Tyler realized that. "DON'T YOU EVER COME NEAR EITHER OF US AGAIN!" she added for good measure. "C'mon, Jamie, get in the car," she ordered as she stopped to scoop up his remaining things off the ground and grab her little brother who stayed frozen to the ground staring up at the tree.

"BUT MY SHOE!" he cried again even as she managed physically to pull him over to the car and push him into the backseat once she unlocked the door. "ERIN, I WANT MY SHOE!"

"We'll come back and get it later, I promise," she lied as she ran around and started the car while knowing there was no way short of bringing a cherry-picker or a helicopter with them to get it down from the unclimbable tree at that height, but she was desperate for them both to be away from her bad-tempered now ex-boyfriend before he did anything else. That thought and the adrenaline rush from the whole incident had left her shaken, and she hit the gas a bit harder than intended in reverse and wound up bumping Tyler with the back fender as she brought the car around… just enough to knock him backwards a step once more.

"YOU BITCH!" he screamed as he picked his foot up with its steel-toed black work boot and planted a heavy kick on the rear quarter panel, leaving a good-sized ding before she put the car in forward and tore out of there. "I'll get you for that!"

"Erin, we left my shoe there!" Jamie cried as he climbed up to look forlornly back out of the rear window at the scene after his sister drove away.

"Jamie, just please sit down and put your seatbelt on," Erin begged as she continued to shake and paused the car at the end of the parking lot until she heard the unmistakable muffler noise of the Impala's engine coming to life behind and she feared Tyler was mad enough to follow them. "WE HAVE TO GO HOME, NOW! I promise I'll fix this, okay? We'll get your shoe back," she swore as he complied with a big quivering frowny face and spilling tears while she drove carefully back towards the safety of the family home while her mind was going a thousand miles an hour trying to figure out exactly how to do just that while still saving her own hide from an avenging six-four father and his infamous war clubs.

###

"So that's it?" Eddie sighed in great disappointment as she sat back in her chair at the Reagan family dinner table with a frown as Danny came to a natural pause in his tale while noticing that everyone else with the exception of Erin and Jamie had already finished their plates. Those two continued to glare at him with contempt as their long-ago misdeeds were revealed to a whole new generation. "Erin got grounded some more and the Eagle Scout wannabe defended his sister's honor at the age of eight by standing up to Goliath and sacrificing his precious shoe to a tree? That's where it ends? I don't buy it!"

"Oh no, we're just getting to the good part," Danny assured as he took the final swig of his wine while enjoying his storytelling role immensely, particularly because he wasn't cast as the lead bad guy for a change. "I thought we'd break for dessert because I didn't want my wife's homemade apple pie to burn in the kitchen," he admitted as the inviting smell was wafting into the dining room. "Bet that would taste great warm out of the oven with some of that good vanilla bean ice cream that Dad keeps stashed in the back of the freezer," he hinted.

"The pie!" Linda exclaimed as she hurried off to spare her baked diner contribution from ruin. "Don't say one more word until I get back!" she urged as she had found herself equally intrigued with this account from the past.

"I'll take some of that," Henry commented as he pushed his empty plate back. "A nice piece too. I'm working up quite an appetite listening to this and we'll have to get the shovels out soon. It's gonna get deep."

"I'll help!" Nicki shouted back as she rushed to get the plates to cut down on any further delay. "But first, Mom... what ever happened to Tyler Bonshak? Did you ever go out with him again?"

"Oh, good Lord… figures that's what you would worry about," Erin sighed.

"There goes all my favorite ice cream," Frank lamented with a glower.

"Why Grandpa making a frowny face now?" Kaylin piped up. "I like ice cream!"

"I wish you would stop calling me a little dweeb," Jamie growled at his older brother. "He never said that! You're just making it up as you go and know that you _will_ pay for this. Trust me; you'll never see it coming," he vowed.

"Uncle Jamie, did you get your shoe back?" Sean wondered.

"What did Grandpa do when he found the dent in the car?" Jack demanded.

"All to be revealed," Danny smiled with a Cheshire grin as he found himself quickly served with a generous slice of scrumptious dessert with a side of silky ice cream and a cup of hot coffee just the way he liked it. A little more of this and he could have had them fanning him with palm fronds and popping fresh fruit in his mouth, all except for his two siblings who looked like they would rather shove something else down his throat. "You see by the time Erin got them and the car home more or less in one piece, she already had a plan formulated and our poor virtuous Jamison suddenly had a whole lot more to worry about than his missing shoe..."

* * *

 _Part III continues next time as we find out exactly how Erin planned to get them out of this mess without revealing the true extent of what happened which of course would have seen her serving a life sentence in her bedroom with the key thrown away, but she fails to account for the extent of the guilt pangs that are inflicted on little mister goody two- well, now one-shoe as he mourns his lost footwear while fearing the wrath of his all-knowing and expert perp-sweating father. What will cause Jamie finally to crack under the pressure? We all know he did!_

 _Also, thanks for the positive reviews (to my guests, I would love to be able to reply in person!) and for the PM's wishing mr. werks well. He's doing fine... just sore, bored and banned from driving for a bit more which is a deadly hubby combination!_


	23. Goody Two-Shoes (Part III)

Chapter 23

Goody Two-Shoes (Part III)

 _Part III picks up as our pair of no-gooders arrive at home while the deceptive plot to cover all this up begins to unfold as an impressionable Jamie is coached in the dark arts by his sister who we can say definitely found her niche as a lawyer in the future as she bullies and bends and weaves the truth around to suit her own purpose._

* * *

"Jamie, please don't cry anymore!" Erin begged as she pulled the car safely into the driveway and checked nervously in the mirror for any signs of Tyler behind them. Thankfully there were none. "Mom is gonna be able to tell that something happened the minute you walk in the house! You have a terrible poker face! Besides, I told you I would go back tomorrow after church and try to get it out of the tree. Maybe I can knock it down with a baseball or something."

"You can't pitch a ball up that far!" Jamie gretzed as he sat stubbornly with his arms crossed and refused to move or be pacified. "Only Joey can!"

"Well we're NOT gonna tell anyone else about this are we, little man? Remember snitches wind up in ditches and you're in as much trouble as I am! You hit somebody in the face with that thing on purpose!"

"Danny says that doesn't count! He says when it comes to family you're 'lowed to shoot first and ask questions later. He was hurting your arm, Erin! I'm supposed to protect you!"

"Well, then you don't want to see me get into any more big trouble with Dad, do you? C'mon Jamie… he grounded me so I wouldn't see Tyler anymore and I'm definitely never, ever gonna do that again, so Dad and Mom will be happy about that, right? I learned my lesson, and besides it was your fault that I had to leave the house and take you to the dumb school, anyway! You were the one bugging Mom about that! Otherwise I would have stayed home and none of this would have ever happened!"

"But I lost my shoe!" he railed back. "And 'sides, Mommy and Daddy and Grandma Betty and Father Flynn say it's a sin to lie!"

"So you won't have to! And Mommy and Daddy are already upset about Danny and that test so we shouldn't try to make it any worse! If they ask you how practice was, you can say good, 'cause it was… your coach said you did good and you get to start the game next week, right? And if they ask you how I did driving, you can say good too because I got you there and back just fine, right? Just leave the rest of the stuff out and you won't be lying at all!"

"But you hit Tyler with the car!"

"Bumped. I bumped him a teeny tiny little bit with the fender," Erin corrected as she honed her future lawyer skills and gathered up her things while preparing to get out of the vehicle, having nearly forgotten about that last part in her haste to get away, but first she took an anxious calculated glance at the house. If Mary was up and around on that toe and watching out the window as surely she might be with her heart in her throat wondering what on earth could have possessed her to let her teenaged daughter drive her precious little baby boy alone on public streets two days after her driver's license arrived… if that was the case she would be getting suspicious about now over this long delay as they sat here getting their stories straight and this whole plan would be dead in the water before they even got in the front door. Erin knew she had to find a way to keep Jamie away from her parents as much as possible until she was able to get the damn shoe back to settle him down. Luckily it appeared that her mother's bum foot was once again keeping her largely immobile and confined to the back of the house and Erin huffed in relief as she dashed around to the passenger side to pull her little brother out of the vehicle.

"Stop it, Erin! I'm a big boy, I can walk all by myself!…" he started to protest as she grabbed him and his now half-empty duffle bag and started physically to drag him behind the car, intent on getting him inside and up the steps to his room before her mother could see his guilt-ridden dirty face with its red-rimmed eyes and tear tracks. "Erin, _LOOK!"_ came the gasp though as they rounded the side where a nice-sized ugly dent was evident in the panel courtesy of the swipe by Tyler's steel-toed boots. "OY! Momma's going to be so mad when she sees what he did to her car!"

"Tyler didn't do that, a baseball did," Erin improvised on the fly as she renewed her efforts to get Jamie up the steps and into the house unseen.

"No it didn't! I saw him kick the… humph!" he ended abruptly as a hand clamped down over his mouth to silence him as she pulled him in the front door and quickly towards the steps.

"Erin? Is that you? Is everything okay? Where's Jamie? How was his practice?" she heard her mother call from the kitchen and the distinctive alternate clop of the hard boot and patter of a slipper as she got up slowly from the table and made her way towards the doorway.

"Everything's fine, Mom!" Erin answered as she neared the top of the stairway, still dragging her struggling and physically hushed little brother along. "He's just all muddy and stinky and stuff from playing ball in the dirt. Aren't you Jamie? You know how he gets… he hates to be seen like that and you wouldn't allow him to sit anywhere in the house right now! I'll make sure he gets a good tubby so you don't need to come upstairs! Just go rest your foot! He'll be nice and clean before he comes down for lunch and tells you all about it!"

"Oh, thank you, dear. That's very nice of you. Make sure he scrubs behind his ears!" Mary reminded as she turned her full attention back to Danny who had managed to make very little headway in his efforts despite an entire morning of intense tutoring from his mother. "Now, what was the name of the general who was relieved of his Union command just three days before the battle of Gettysburg, and who took his place?" she asked.

"Lee?" Danny guessed hopefully, pulling at straws. "And George Washington took over?"

"Oh, sweet Jesus in heaven, give me strength," Mary sighed. "Daniel, you're going to be selling siding for the rest of your life at this rate. General Robert E. Lee's _Confederate_ Army of Northern Virginia was defeated in attacks by _Union_ Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North. President Abraham Lincoln ordered Major General Joseph Hooker to move his army in pursuit, but he was relieved of command just three days before the battle and replaced by Meade."

"Wait, General Lee… like on the Dukes of Hazzard? That orange car had a Confederate flag!" Danny exclaimed as the realization hit him. "I can remember that!"

"Terrific, the details of one of the most important moments of American history escape you, but you can remember facts from a half-rated tv show. I'm so proud, Daniel Fitzgerald Reagan," Mary frowned contentiously.

"Oh, c'mon, Ma! I'm gonna be a cop!" Danny complained right back. "I'm not good at all this memorizing book stuff like everyone else is, but I know people, and if you think Erin took Jamie upstairs like that to clean him up before you saw him, then that probably means he came home with a great big black eye from hitting his head on the dashboard or something when she slammed on the brakes and forgot to have him put his seatbelt on! Now she's trying to cover it up with her makeup before you see," he offered as he turned the tables on his own mother with the added bonus of putting her intense maternal spotlight back on his sister.

"Daniel, I…" Mary started as she sat up in her chair ramrod straight. Of course, say what you will about anything else, but Danny had indeed inherited his father and grandfather's keen nose for chutzpah and he certainly was gifted in how to read people when they were trying to pull a fast one over… "I'll be right back!" she exclaimed as she got up and painfully clopped her way over to the stairs as fast as possible, grimacing at the pains in her big toe as she hurried.

"ERIN! ERIN MARIE REAGAN! Show yourself this instant!" Mary ordered and then pulled herself up the steps one at a time by the railing in her effort to get to the bottom of this when there was no reply and she heard the water in the bathroom running at full force before the door slammed shut.

"Mom! What are you doing? I told you that you didn't have to come up here! Dad said you weren't to do steps unless absolutely necessary!" Erin started as she came around the corner with Jamie's dirty clothing in hand and found her mother nearing the top of the stairway.

"I'll go wherever I want in this house! Now where is Jamison?" Mary huffed as she finally ascended to the landing, out of breath from her awkward efforts while her momma bear senses came to full force, and at least one of the Reagan cubs was going to feel her wrath if she found anything untoward up there.

"He's in the tub," Erin answered with a contrite and often-practiced surprised tone in her voice, having quickly stripped her little brother naked as a jaybird against his will and thrown him the bathroom with no clothing or towels available to make his escape before releasing his mouth with a firm threat to go scrub his face with a washcloth as hard as he could to hide the tear stains. As bashful as Jamie was now, Erin knew he would be sitting in the water under bubbles the moment he heard anyone else come near. "I told you he needed a bath," she added, showing the muddy uniform for evidence to bolster her case. "I was just going to get him some jeans and a new shirt to wear. All the towels are downstairs in the laundry, too, and he needs one of those."

"Oh," Mary waffled when presented with those benign-looking facts. Perhaps Danny had been wrong about all of this, or worse was trying to pull his own fast one over on her in an effort to get out of his studies. Still, she was up here now and not about to let this go until she laid eyes on her youngest son and confirmed that he was in fact still in one piece. "Jamison?" she called as she continued to hobble down the hall towards the bath, anyway. "Honey, are you sure you're okay in there?"

"Yes, Momma! I'm fine! You don't have to come… in here!" he continued as she opened the door anyway and he slid down as far as possible into his meager fluff of bubbles. "MOMMA, PLEASE!" he cried, his instant blush hiding the fact that he had nearly taken the first layer of skin off his face with the washcloth in an attempt to comply with his sister's orders.

"I'm sorry, dear. I was just checking," Mary apologized at the invasion of privacy as she reminded herself that her little boy was growing up after all and no longer welcomed company in the room during his bath time. Still it was comforting to her to see that despite his older brother's predictions he appeared to be all in one piece as there was very little to be hidden otherwise.

"How was your practice?" she asked as she deferred to his sensitivity and closed the door, standing behind it with just a crack open so they could talk.

"Good..." he answered with a heavy swallow and a grimace his mother couldn't see as he remembered the strict no-lying coaching Erin had imparted on him, complete with a death threat involving a ditch if he happened to snitch. "Coach, um, Parker said I did good and probably get to start the game next week and bat first out of everybody."

"Oh, sweetheart, that's wonderful news! Your Daddy and the boys will be so proud of you! I know you've been working very hard and there's a lot of bigger players on this travel team. Those new shoes must have brought you good luck today!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jamie agreed with a huge frowny face that his mother couldn't see. "Can you go away now?" he asked evenly as the tears of self pity were going to come hard again and he didn't want her to hear him sniffling.

"Oh, of course, Jamison. I'm so sorry. I'll have some lunch ready for you downstairs when you get out."

"'Kay, thank you," came the polite reply and Mary was off pegging back down the hall again, satisfied that her youngest was well. A quick peek out the window showed the car to be parked nicely in it's normal spot in the driveway looking unscathed from this side at least, and her apparently helpful daughter was returning with Jamie's clothes and a pile of freshly laundered folded towels pulled from the dryer downstairs which she gratefully acknowledged with a satisfied smile and nod. Perhaps this weekend of confinement with a couple of grounded angst-ridden teenagers wasn't going to be so bad after all. At least Joey had offered little to worry over in his grandparents' charge and Grandma Betty had insisted she would bring everything from the store and come over to help cook Sunday dinner here the next day so there was no reason to be concerned about that. _Frank will be so pleased when he gets home,_ Mary thought, until she realized exactly how much work was left to be done downstairs with her oldest and his history lessons. Three out of four wasn't bad, she sighed as she carefully headed back down the steps towards him to start again.

"Jamison is _fine,"_ she emphasized as she returned and sat back down at the table to rest. "Why don't you take a break for a few minutes and make some sandwiches for everyone for a late lunch since your sister is helping with her brother and the laundry. There's fresh roast beef with rolls and that good thinly sliced cheese that everyone likes," she directed from her chair as she put her foot back up on the pillow as the doctor had advised her to do as much as possible.

" _Sure,_ Ma," Danny offered with raised eyebrows and she huffed when she couldn't figure out which part of her statement had incited that inflected reply.

Meanwhile upstairs Erin had barged into the bathroom once more and was holding Jamie's clothing and the towel hostage for information. "What did you tell Mom?" she hissed.

"That my practice was GOOD," he replied with emphasis as he wiped the last of his tears and she inspected his face to see if he had done as ordered. "Now gimme my stuff and go 'way!"

"Did she ask about the car yet?" Erin pressed as she continued to hold the items behind her back.

"No! She said to come for lunch when I was done, but I don't wanna! My tummy hurts!"

"Good! Go down and tell her that and then you can stay in your room the rest of the day! This is perfect! It'll explain the look you have on your face and everything! She'll just think you're sick and let you alone to sleep! Play that up! I'll handle everything when Dad gets home and you won't give it away!"

"But Erin, my tummy really does hurt!" he cried to an empty wall as she had just dumped off his clothes and the towel on the floor and left with a little slam of the door. "Guess I won't have to lie about that _either,"_ he griped at his sister's disregard for his feelings as he got out of the water to dry off and dress.

###

"What's the matter, kid? You gonna eat the rest of that sandwich I slaved over in the kitchen to make you, or are you waiting for it to walk off the plate by itself?" Danny asked as he eyeballed a possible second yummy roast beef lunch entrée to pack away as Jamie had taken just one bite and then sat with his chin on the table staring past the food on his plate for the last ten minutes without eating anything while everyone else finished their lunch and his mother got up to tend to another load of laundry in the next room when the washer beeped.

"You can have it," Jamie sighed as he pushed the dish over towards his older brother. "M'm not hungry. My stomach hurts."

"Oh, what… did Erin make you sick in the car?" Danny joked although he was half serious. His sister had a tendency to pump the brakes a long way out from an intersection and it made for a choppy ride oftentimes. He could see where something like that might cause a little kid in the backseat to lose his cookies as it were.

"No, she drove good. We got there and back just fine," Jamie answered automatically with Erin's pre-filled in truth script. "Whatcha reading about now?" he asked in an effort to distract himself and change the subject.

"All about the punishment and discipline the soldiers faced if they did something wrong," Danny revealed as he flipped yet another page. "This is the only interesting part I've found so far," he sighed. "Sometimes they tied them to a spare wheel in the back of the caisson to torture them and gagged them so they couldn't hear them screaming or they just shot them by firing squad and left them in a ditch… for any little thing like lying to their commanding officer or something dumb like that."

"Daniel, that's not for your little brother's ears," Mary warned as she came back in the kitchen and she saw Jamie's eyes go wide with that revelation.

"Sorry, Ma... but he asked," Danny defended.

"They don't still do stuff like that, do they?" Jamie swallowed hard.

"Nah, that was back in the old days," his brother assured. "When there were pirates on the seas too. They just made you walk the plank and jump into the ocean to let the sharks eat you. Now if detectives like Dad catch you lying about something you get put in jail."

"How does Daddy know that?" Jamie asked nervously as his stomach twinged again and he put his hand down over top of it. "I mean about people lying to him?"

"Oh, c'mon, Jamie… you've heard all about that from Dad and Grandpa when they tell their stories. It's called sweating a perp. Sometimes they shine a bright light in their eyes while they ask questions in a dark room, or they make the guy thirsty and keep a glass of water right out of his reach. Other times they play good cop, bad cop… one guy acts all nice and stuff and the other one is mean and scares the perp. That's the one I want to be," he smiled as he considered his career goals despite the fact it hinged on what looked like an impossible task at this point. "Plus, Dad says anytime a guy falls asleep in the box when he's being questioned he can tell he's guilty too."

"Daddy's really good at his job, isn't he?" Jamie asked forlornly wondering how he could possibly keep the truth from somebody who could do amazing things like that.

"Of course, he's a Reagan… we're the best," Danny assured as he had always identified himself with the likes of his father and grandfather with regard to the family business.

Their little discussion was suddenly interrupted though with the arrival of Joey, home from his trip to the naval museum. "Mom! Mom!" he burst in the back door excitedly.

"Joseph, mind your manners," Mary reminded. "Hang up your jacket and take your shoes off, and then you can tell us all about your visit to the Intrepid."

"No, Mom! Grandpa's outside looking at the car, what happened?" he asked as Jamie's stomach lurched and did a final flip turn before thudding to the bottom of his feet like it was filled with lead. "There's a big dent in the back!"

"What!" Mary gasped as she jumped to her feet with a grimace. "Where? Jamison, did your sister have an accident with another car?!" she demanded as her suspicions rose to the forefront again.

"No, Momma… Erin didn't hit any _thing,"_ Jamie admitted in truth by the letter of the law, it had after all been some _one_ who had in fact hit back.

"Erin Marie Reagan!" Mary shouted again before heading at a slow pace to the back door. "Get down here right now!" she added as Danny and Joey rushed back out to see while Jamie lingered behind as his sister's feet hit the bottom landing. She had been up in her room nervously pacing for the last half hour wondering exactly who would see the damage first, and her wish that maybe it would go unnoticed until the car had been parked on the street so that the blame could be further deflected had gone unanswered.

"Follow my lead and otherwise keep your mouth shut!" she demanded with a hiss as she gave Jamie a sharp bump on the way by, and he put his head down and followed everyone else outside.

"Oh, no! My car!" Mary cried as she neared the little gathering of Reagan men and noticed the good-sized ding. "Erin, what happened?"

"Erin was driving the car?" Henry asked as he stood back and adjusted his glasses with a raised eyebrow. "I thought Francis had that girl grounded until the next century."

"She took Jamie to baseball practice for me this morning," Mary explained to her father-in-law. "Erin?"

"Mom, I didn't see that when we were at the school!" Erin answered carefully. "Nothing happened between here and there either! Maybe it got hit with a baseball?" she slid her preconceived plausible explanation in there. "I wasn't near it the whole time because you told me I had to watch my little brother and we were parked by the field where the bigger boys were throwing, right Jamie?"

"Yes," he choked out. "I had to walk around them when I went back to the car."

"Oh, no! You parked in that lot? Erin, balls fly in there all the time! There's signs all over to park at your own risk, but I never…" Mary trailed off. "Well, I never told you not to do that so I guess it was my fault," she frowned. "Frank's not going to be happy with this when he gets home," she sighed with regret. "I guess I'm the one that's gonna be in hot water tonight."

###

"Erin Reagan! I can't believe what I'm hearing! You left you own mother hanging there on purpose to take the rap for the dent?! And Jamie! Even though you were little you went along with that?!" Linda exclaimed in disbelief as she looked between the two who were both sitting quietly with their eyes down, reliving the shared guilt between them. "Now I've heard everything," she admitted as she shook her head and pushed her dessert plate away. "You two are definitely doing the dishes tonight, and if you were mine I would ground you all over again."

"Well, lambchop, you just permanently lost Boy Scout status in my eyes," Eddie tutted in shock as she held a sleeping Kaylin on her lap, the long story having acted like a bedtime tale, much to her father's relief at this point.

"I was just a little dweeb afraid of ditches," Jamie sighed and acknowledged with heavy regret. "But I knew it was wrong."

"Yeah, but I pushed you into it," Erin admitted, equally ashamed. "I'm still sorry about that. You would have told the truth from the start if I hadn't done those things to you."

"Mom, I am just… wow… speechless," Nicki huffed before wrinkling up her nose. "I get now what I did was pretty bad… maybe I would have been tempted to do the same thing. I'm sorry for yelling at you and Uncle Jamie, but poor Grandma! And she had a broken toe at the time too!"

"Yeah, all her kids were against her that weekend, well all but Uncle Joe," Jack observed. "He's the only one that didn't do anything wrong, and the General Lee, Dad?" he asked as he looked sideways over at his father. "Seriously? How on earth did you ever pass that test?"

"I got my diploma and became a cop, didn't I?" was all the explanation Danny would offer with a grunt.

"Not until after a failed stint at selling siding," Henry muttered under his breath.

"Grandpa, please say you didn't yell at Grandma Mary when you got home, did you?" Sean wondered. "'Cause it totally wasn't her fault! How did you figure it out? Did you make Aunt Erin and Uncle Jamie sweat it out in the box?"

"Well, Sean… no, of course I didn't yell at your grandmother when I got home," Frank admitted as he took over the story. "I certainly wasn't happy about it, but it seemed at the time to have been just an accident… and those things happen and it's nobody's fault. I had a feeling though that something was off with the whole story, but pretty soon we were worried whatever went on was a whole lot worse than a little dent in the car when your uncle's conscience started to get the better of him…"

* * *

 _Ooh, that took a bad turn, didn't it? Luckily Frank didn't fly off the handle when he got home to make it worse, but as Part IV picks up Jamie's shift in behavior starts to raise suspicions and things only amplify the next day at Sunday dinner as the whole family is gathered in the house and he does indeed start to sweat. What will be the tipping point? Will he confide in anyone, and what will they counsel him to do before the truth comes out and a certain sister decides to head for the hills?_


	24. Goody Two-Shoes (Part IV)

Chapter 23

Goody Two-Shoes (Part IV)

 _A mother's intuition has Frank investigating things a little more closely as he goes upstairs to rake some information out of his youngest son, but it's a pair of older brothers who break the case open first and have Jamie poised to confess._

* * *

"Frank, I'm worried about Jamison," Mary fretted later that evening as the pair sat in the kitchen alone together after he had finally managed to get home after a long day and all the hoopla had died down regarding the dented car, the kids had all settled down in various rooms around the house and she assumed that her late-working husband was now resolved just as she was to work it out with a call to the insurance company on Monday and move on. "He barely ate any lunch and didn't come down at all for dinner. Joey said he's been crying up in his room that his tummy is hurting him on and off all afternoon, but whenever I ask he says he's fine. I've never seen him like this before."

"Did he say anything at all when he came home? You said he was okay when he left in the morning… that he was excited to go with his new shoes and all," Frank wondered as he thoughtfully stroked his mustache and pondered his youngest's actions. Something wasn't sitting right with this tale of the mysterious baseball dent, but he had nothing solid to base his suspicions on. Still it involved his daughter and after what he saw a few days prior he wouldn't put much past her at this point, and it left him just a bit ruffled that she had been allowed to leave the house against his orders as it were but decided to let that slide given his wife's current state. "Maybe it is just a stomach ache."

"He told me that his coach said he did good at practice and that he might even start the next game and everything… he should be happy, but he didn't even mention that to you or Joey when you got home and he knows how proud you would be of him for that. Frank…" she began slowly, not even wanting to even bring this possibility to light given her husband's occupation, and it caused his eyebrows to pop up with disbelief at the next bit of information she unveiled. "Frank, I didn't think anything of it at the time, but he came home and scrubbed himself nearly raw in the bathtub right after… You don't think… I mean I wasn't there. What if… what if something bad happened to him?" she asked as her eyes teared up at the thought and he knew immediately what she was insinuating. "There were bigger boys teams at the school and Erin might have been too busy reading her magazines to notice... I shouldn't have left him go alone," she added with a hurt look on her face at the thought.

"Now, Mary… let's not get ahead of ourselves," he tried to assure although he was not a man to believe in coincidences. Something had happened in all of this, his gut was sure of it, but he did not want to alarm his wife and he failed to see how he could connect the two events. "This could just be a simple case of that new breakfast cereal not agreeing with him."

"Frank, he's had simple tummy aches before. This is not that. He doesn't hide those from me."

"Alright," he sighed as he got up and went over to the cabinet to pull out a glass to fill with water, dropping a few tablets of sodium bicarbonate in to fizz for help with the stomach issue if it was just that. "I'm going up there to see what this is about now," he huffed and made his way up the steps to Jamie's room where he walked in unannounced, startling the little boy who was laying curled up on his side on the bed in the darkened room with his back to the door.

"Da-daddy," Jamie stuttered as he sat up and blinked when Frank frowned and turned on the bright desk light next to the bed. Something was definitely wrong with his youngest who was normally in perpetual motion unless he was asleep, constantly bouncing around and bubbling with enthusiasm over this and that. "Wh-what are you doing up here?" he asked nervously and swallowed hard when he eyed the glass of water that Frank sat on the corner of the nightstand… just out of his reach. What was it that Danny said? It was what Daddy and Grandpa did to sweat a perp… sometimes they would shine a bright light in their eyes in a dark room while they asked questions… that would make the guy thirsty and then they would keep a glass of water just out of his reach.

That must mean he was the perp.

Jamie gulped again and was suddenly very thirsty.

"Son, your mother said you weren't feeling well… I came up to see what was wrong. Joey told us that he thinks you have a tummy ache. Do you?"

"Sometimes," Jamie answered truthfully although he still remained a bit evasive in his father's opinion. "But it doesn't hurt right now," he added and laid back down on the bed clutching the spare pillow to keep his father from seeing that his heart was beating nearly outside his chest.

"You told your mother you were fine," he chided and Jamie's eyes went wide. Caught in an unintentional lie that fast; he hadn't even realized that's what he had done. His father _was_ the very best at his job and it was only the vision of what Erin might do that kept him from spilling out the truth right then and there.

"You didn't come down for dinner. They had baked macaroni and cheese… your favorite."

"Oh," Jamie replied sadly, that was his very most favorite meal. "I wasn't hungry." Again, not a lie and he probably didn't deserve to have it, anyway. His mother's macaroni and cheese was so yummy it should be reserved only for good kids, but then again Erin most likely went down and ate it. His nose wrinkled a little at that thought and he wondered how his sister was able to keep her deceit hidden so well. Jamie knew he could never do that, so it was best for now if he listened to her and stayed away from everyone no matter how hard his stomach was rumbling now with the thought of missing that cheesy delight.

"Well, it must be pretty bad to keep you away from that," Frank added with renewed concern as he ran the back of two fingers lightly over his son's cheek and found it warm but still damp although he assumed it was from illness and not the fact that he was unintentionally sweating his own perfectly healthy child in the box at that very moment as it were.

"Jamie, your mother and I are worried that maybe something bad happened to you at the school today," he continued as he watched his son's reaction carefully and he clearly read a shameful look that caused his own heart to beat all out of sorts. God, what if Mary was right about what she feared? All of their children had been drilled on stranger danger and what to do if in fact those advances came from someone familiar who perhaps made threats in some way to keep the secret hidden, but he knew all too well that a small, impressionable child could be turned out of fear or guilt, and he saw the latter in Jamie's eyes at the moment. "Son, I think you have something you need to tell me, don't you? Did someone put their hands on you?" he prodded even as he dreaded the answer.

Jamie's mind raced to come up with a truthful and plausible explanation to that question. "A bigger boy pushed me down and yelled at me," he finally admitted while omitting most of the particulars, although he knew he needed to add at least one fact to explain why that happened and he had to get _something_ off his chest. "He didn't like my new shoes," he disclosed and an enormous crocodile tear rolled down his cheek at the renewed grief over the loss of his most precious Bobby Bonilla cleat which was still hanging all alone by itself up in that tree in the dark where any type of woodland creature might claim it as its own. Like a big fat spider. Jamie shuddered.

"That's all? You're sure? He didn't hurt you or touch you somewhere he shouldn't, did he?" Frank asked as relief washed over him at that admittance with a negative shake of the head at the last question, and one the little boy was unlikely to deny pointedly. "Do you want to tell me who it was that did that?" Of all his boys, Jamie was the most sensitive and something like this could very well be the cause of all the tummy strife.

"I'd rather not," came the denial and frowny face his father expected. While he would love to lay his own hands on whoever hurt his child, he also respected the fact that he couldn't be omnipresent in any of their lives and they needed to know how fight their own battles, particularly when it appeared to be a minor issue like this now did. Jamie was small for his age and playing up on a team with some older boys so having his big cop father step in unnecessarily might make him a target for more abuse, not to mention the fact that his youngest was constantly looking up to his two more confident brothers Danny and Joey and wanting to be more like them. It was a delicate line to toe, but there was no real harm done, apparently. Not even a bruise from what Mary saw. Still, a few more facts were required before he was prepared to let this pass.

"Is this something he's done to you before?"

"No, sir."

Frank pursed his lips and expelled a deep breath. "Jamie, you know you can always come to me or your mother with anything… no matter what it might be, big or small. We're your dad and mom first over everything. You sure there nothing else you want to tell us?"

"No, Daddy. I don't _want_ to tell you anything else," Jamie finished regretfully and his father departed feeling better after a few more minutes of trying to entice his youngest to drink the fizzy water and come downstairs for some warmed up mac and cheese while it left a little boy worse off than ever.

###

"Uncle Jamie, you really thought Grandpa was sweating you like a perp by shining a light in your eyes and everything?" Jack smirked as the entire family remained at the dinner table. "I would never have fallen for that. Not even at eight. C'mon!"

"I don't know about that; Francis is so good he can get you even if he's not trying," Henry warned.

"You wait, John Patrick Reagan," Linda chided. "Next time I want some info about whatever went down between you and your brother, I'm gonna send you over here and let your two Grandpas work their magic. If you think your father is bad…"

"I was a little kid, Jack," Jamie admitted with a smile as he remembered. "And it's true when you feel guilty about something you're susceptible to all kinds of interrogation techniques. The next one was sleep deprivation, and that I gave myself because I felt so bad about everything that I tossed and turned all night. Mom and I even stayed home from church the next morning because by that point they were convinced I must be sick and she still couldn't walk."

"So Grandma got the truth out of you?" Sean asked.

"Not quite," Jamie laughed. "She went at me pretty hard too, but Dad laid into Erin on the way home from services about not watching me better until she turned on the waterworks and he let her off the hook for that."

"I did not," Frank gruffed indignantly.

"Oh, yeah you did, Pop," Danny interjected. "A few big tears along with one of her Oscar-winning performances and you were ready to let the whole thing go. Daddy's little girl," he snuffed. "Mom was the one who could always call Erin out."

"She and I could go at it," Erin agreed as she remembered those trying teenaged angst-filled years fondly now. "Sorry, Dad. This time I was more afraid of her than you. Jamie was her little baby and when she found out what happened that night after Sunday dinner…"

"You showed up on our doorstep in your jammies without so much as a toothbrush," Henry recalled with a smile. "Mary was so hot she made your Grandma look like a double-dipped ice cream cone with sprinkles on top. Erin figured she was better off with us. Stayed there two whole days to let things cool down, and no one even came looking for her. Not even you, Francis," he tutted.

"I had my orders," Frank admitted with a nod and raised eyebrows as he recalled his wife's reaction. "I sure wasn't going against Mary that time."

"So who finally got to you?" Eddie pried as she looked at her husband. "And what made you crack? I need to remember this in case you ever try to pull a fast one on me in the future," she huffed.

"Never happen, lambchop," Jamie smiled. "I couldn't pull the wool over your beautiful eyes," he snickered, as did the rest of the table with the exception of his oldest sibling.

"Oh, boy… he made a funny," Danny rolled his own eyes. "It was me and Joe that broke him," he added proudly as he pounded on his puffed out chest. "We heard what Dad said to Erin in the car about some older boy pushing Jamie down, so we decided he needed to be toughened up a little, plus we wanted the name of the jack… ahh, little duckie," he added in deference to Kaylin who stirred for a second before laying her head back down against Eddie. "You know, the guy that would dare mess with our kid brother like that over a pair of shoes."

"So they went all good cop, bad cop on me and dragged me out into the backyard before dinner for "batting practice" in the empty lot behind the house to get me ready for that game," Jamie emphasized with air quotes. "Joe kinda knew something was up as soon as I came outside with my old cleats on, but he didn't say anything right away, and you can probably guess who the bad cop was," he frowned contentiously as he looked across the table. "As if that weekend hadn't been crappy enough."

"That was me," Danny added proudly as if no one would have known that to be a fact. "I softened him up for Joe."

"By making me cry again. Gee, thanks, big brother," Jamie added with a sigh.

"Hey, I was just doing my job," Danny defended. "That's what the bad cop is supposed to do, genius… we set the stage for the good cop to sweep in and clean up the mess so you trust him and feel comfortable spilling your guts. It worked, didn't it? All I said was…"

###

"Christ, kid! You're such a little wimpy runt! No wonder it's so easy to kick your ass!" Danny roared after pegging Jamie in the back with a high inside half-speed fastball while trying to back him off the plate. Joey gave his older brother a contentious frown and stood up from his catcher's position to go retrieve the ball. This little intervention had been all Danny's idea, so he went along with it, but it pissed him off to no end to see anybody hurt Jamie, even if that somebody shared the same DNA as the rest of them.

"Ow! That was on purpose!" Jamie cried as he threw his bat and helmet down to the ground. "You're mean! I don't wanna play with you anymore!"

"Oh, I'm mean! You don't want to play!" Danny mocked. "What's the matter baby? You gonna tell mommy and daddy on me? Is that what that other boy said when he hurt you? Did you even fight back at all? Sometimes I'm ashamed to admit you're a Reagan!"

"He wasn't hurting me! And I hit… NEVER MIND!" Jamie trailed off and walked away in a huff to go sulk and sit on the low stone wall surrounding his mother's garden.

"Give it a rest, Danny; he's eight," Joey grumbled as he waved his older brother away back to the house and took off his catcher's mitt to sit down next to Jamie who was fighting off the tears once more. "Hey…" he started as he wrapped a protective arm over his shoulders.

"Don't, Joey," the precocious little boy warned. "I know what you're doing. Danny made me mad so I would spill out all my guts to you. You're the good cop. He said he likes being the bad one."

"That he does," Joey agreed with a small wry smile at the fact they had been found out so easily proving Jamie did have the Reagan blue blood in him after all. "But something's wrong, isn't it? You gotta tell someone. You're not eating and making yourself sick. What happened with the shoes?" he asked pointedly. "C'mon, you were so excited to get the new cleats and you brought your old ratty ones out to wear today."

"Can't," Jamie frowned as he held his head in his hands and stared sadly at his stupid old dirty pair while the wind kicked up a little as a few storm clouds appeared over the horizon. "I'd be snitching."

"Well, what if I swear on my life not to tell anyone else? You trust me, right? I promise just to help you figure this out, but I can't do that if I don't know what happened."

"Does God ever punish people for _not_ lying?" Jamie asked suddenly.

"Well, I don't think so," Joey frowned. "How's that gonna work? Are you telling me you're this upset and you haven't lied about anything?"

"No, I didn't really lie, but I didn't say all the truth to Daddy or Mommy either," Jamie admitted.

"Well," Joey thought about that for a second. "I think not telling the whole truth is like lying too."

"It is?"

"Yup. Whenever you see a lawyer show on tv, they say you have to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth… they make you swear on a bible so God must not like it if you don't." If there was one thing Joey knew, it was the ins and outs of those _Law and Order_ type shows; he watched them constantly and practically had them all memorized.

"Oh," came the soft, sad reply and a long pause as that bit of information was processed. "If I tell all the truth to one person, will that make God happy?" Jamie asked earnestly.

"Sometimes… I mean we confess things to a priest and he takes the bad away," Joey reasoned. "But you're not old enough to do that yet. The church won't let you until you're ready to get Communion too."

"That stinks," Jamie lamented before continuing when he saw he didn't have a choice since he didn't think he could survive if he carried this forward until the next spring when he was supposed to make his First Holy Communion. "Do you double dare swear not to tell anyone else, not Grandpa, Grandma, Danny, Erin or Mommy and Daddy?" he asked with a glance over.

"I double dare swear. Now spill, kid," Joey encouraged as he saw an opening. "It probably seems a whole lot worse to you than it really is."

"No, it's bad! He threw one of my new cleats all the way in top of a tree by where we were parked," Jamie cried as he opened up to his middle brother and best friend. Joey always had his back, no matter what and if he said he wouldn't tell… well then he wouldn't. "We won't never _ever_ get it down, it's stuck all the way at the top!"

"HE WHAT? HE WHO?!" Joey's Irish temper bubbled as he thought of someone picking on his little kid brother like that, until a final question revealed that Jamie wasn't as helpless as the rest of the family made him out to be. "Why?"

"I hit him in the nose with it after he pushed me down. It was bleeding a little, and it made him more mad."

"More mad? Why was he mad enough to push you down in the first place?" Joey demanded, but the long pause that followed told him the next part wasn't going to be easy to pry out until something else clicked in his own blue-blooded brain. Danny might have his elders' nose for chutzpah, but Joey had a mind like a steel trap for details in puzzles and an end piece just clicked into place. "You said by where _we_ were parked," he growled. "Where was Erin when this happened? You wouldn't have been in the parking lot alone without her. Jamie…"

"He was hurting her!" his little brother confessed and raised his eyes so that Joey could see the cold Reagan anger simmering in them at the injustice of it for the first time. "He grabbed her wrist hard and was pulling her over to his car! I didn't know what else to do! He's bigger than me!"

"WHO?! Jamie! Who did this and why hasn't Erin... said... anything…" he trailed off as another piece dropped, and then another. "TYLER?! Tyler Bonshak did this, didn't he? WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING THERE?" Although he was mad, Joey gave silent thanks that Danny wasn't in on this part of the conversation or he was fairly sure that Erin's boyfriend would have been vaporized and cease to exist about ten minutes afterwards.

"I don't know," Jamie confessed although he was surprised his brother got the name out of him so quickly. There was no going back now it seemed. "I didn't see him until after practice when Erin got out of his car, and then he said he wasn't there, but he _was_ and he pushed me down and grabbed her. She was crying! Then after he threw my shoe in the tree, she pulled me into the car to come home and get away from him. But she drove fine," he insisted, still obediently sticking to the provided script.

"How did Mom's car get dented then?" Joey asked as he looked to fill in the final gap. Like his father, he didn't believe in coincidences. "Did you throw the other shoe too?" he asked, figuring that maybe Jamie was carrying some sort of guilt for his actions in this whole scenario. For his part, Joey thought the kid deserved a medal for sticking up for his sister considering the size of that lump head Bonshak.

"No, he kicked it when she backed up hard and bumped him a teeny tiny bit," Jamie revealed, still careful to repeat his sister's phrasing although he had a feeling the cat would be out of the bag, anyway.

"HOLY CRAP!" Joey exclaimed as he slapped his hand over his face. "And Erin's trying to get you to cover this up, so _she_ doesn't get in more trouble, right?" he asked. "Dad's gonna kill them both!"

"But you can't say!" Jamie gasped. "You double dare sweared!"

"Oh right, yes... I guess I did," Joey admitted as he heaved a deep breath. He knew he couldn't go back on that promise now, not without breaking the kid's trust in him forever. "So you're gonna have to do it yourself," he added firmly.

"ME?! BUT…!"

"You have to," Joey advised as the ever-present voice of Reagan sibling reason. "It's not right that Mom's taking the blame and tomorrow she's gonna call it into the insurance company, and then it gets all official with papers and stuff and she could get in bigger trouble if they think she made up the story about the baseball."

"But she didn't! Erin did!"

"Exactly. That's why you have to do the right thing, kid."

"Joey, Mommy and Daddy are gonna be really mad at me, too," Jamie sniffed. "It was bad what I did, wasn't it? I hit him and didn't say what happened when Momma looked so sad last night, but I don't want to be a snitch that winds up in a ditch," he added with a fearful shudder.

"Erin told you _that?"_ Joey griped as he promised himself some private words with his older sister about her gangsta threats when this was over. "Well the not telling the whole truth thing right away wasn't great, but she was threatening a witness… that's called coercion and a big no-no in court too. Plus, yours was self-defense and anyway they pardon little kids for stuff like this all the time… so will Mom and Dad, but you gotta come clean and work out a plea deal before Erin gets one."

"Work out a what? Joey!" Jamie cried. "I don't know what you're talking about now!"

"They always go softer on the first one that confesses, and like I said you're little. If they don't give you immunity, you'll probably only get probation or community service," he replied confidently before explaining in simpler terms. "You'll wind up losing tv privileges, or have'ta sweep out the garage or something easy like that to make up for it."

"Oh, that's it? You're for sure?" While it wasn't ideal, Jamie would have traded this guilt for either of those two things in a heartbeat right now.

"Pretty sure. Shouldn't be any worse, but like I said you gotta do it soon before it gets all over-complicated and Erin goes to them first, okay?"

"Can I wait until Grandpa Henry and Grandma Betty leave after dinner today?" Jamie asked sadly. He loved and worshiped his grandparents, and considering his grandfather was the current Commissioner, the last thing he wanted was a bigger police audience to hear all about his terrible sins at this point. It was going to be hard enough just facing his parents without crying like a little kid.

"Yeah, I think that would be fine," Joey agreed. "And I'll sit right next to you if you need me to be there," he added with another little hug of his brother's shoulders.

"No, I should do it by myself," Jamie decided even as his lip quivered and his heart started thumping again. "I'm big now too."

"Alright, but I'm always gonna be here if you need me," his brother assured.

###

"Well, God bless Joe," Linda offered with a sniff for that memory of the two younger brothers sitting on the wall working things out together before she reached over to smack her husband. "And how could you hit a scared little kid on purpose with a baseball to make him cry? You are mean!"

"Hey, easy Lin!" Danny griped as he fended off a second blow. "We got him to talk, didn't we? He would have wound up with an ulcer or something eating right through his stomach otherwise the way he was taking it."

"My older brother, the healer," Jamie complained. "Had a mark on my back for a week from that ball. You could have taken a little bit more off of it."

"So you finally came to your senses and told your parents after dinner," Eddie prodded as her arms were starting to cramp up and fall asleep from holding Kaylin, and she was grateful when her husband relieved her by picking up the little girl and putting her down in the sunroom for a further nap. "Stop right there, I have to pee," she proclaimed as those early pregnancy hormones were kicking in once more and Jamie dutifully waited for her return before he started again.

"Yeah, Uncle Jamie... did you snitch on Aunt Erin?" Sean wondered with great interest.

"Mom and Dad found out after dinner, but it wasn't exactly how I planned and I didn't really snitch either..." he revealed and took up the final part of the story.

* * *

 _Yes, God bless Joe as his good common sense advice wins the day. Next, Part V will conclude this longest Snapshot yet as the kitty comes out of the bag sort of involuntarily after Jamie's conscience and lack of food and sleep provokes him into a nightmare of epic Reagan family proportions._

 _For my guest reviewers requesting more of the younger Reagans, thanks for the suggestions! There will be a good bit more of Joe featured in a few upcoming Snapshots and I have been considering doing a story of Frank and Mary's early years, but I also like to relate them to the characters now and that seems easier to do with flashbacks in these sort of short stories. There are some pregnancy/baby plots playing out in the next installment, so I'll keep that in mind and try to work it in. I know another one people are waiting for is Kaylin finding out she's going to be a big sister, but that actually wound up being part of one of the early chapters of "Resurgence" since her reaction will be a little unexpected after further events complicate matters for the now three-year-old who will show a bit more temper in this one as she gets older. Can't be a total sweetie pie all the time at that age, right?_


	25. Goody Two-Shoes (Part V)

Chapter 24

Goody Two-Shoes (Part V)

 _And finally, part five of our semi-epic little Snapshot II concludes this tale of what happens when a little boy's conscience finally catches up with him._

* * *

"Jamison Henry Reagan!" Erin hissed as she pinned him up behind the closed door in the pantry before dinner. "I saw you outside with Joey before! What did you tell him? Did you snitch on me, little boy?"

"Let m'm go!" Jamie muffled underneath the hand over his mouth again. "Joey said you're not 'lowed to do that!" he insisted in a fierce whisper after he pushed her away. "He said it was co… co-something a witness, and it's bad too! I don't want Momma to get in trouble with the 'surance man! That's not fair!"

"You did snitch, you little weasel! You want _me_ to get in trouble?"

"No, but Momma shouldn't either!"

"She's not gonna. It's a little dent and Mom and Dad pay for the insurance. They should get to use it once in awhile. Don't forget you're going to be in big trouble too, and then I won't help you get your shoe back!"

"I don't care! I don't wanna lie anymore by not saying all the truth. And 'sides Joey said he won't tell, but I gotta do the right thing!"

"Erin! Where are you, dear?" Mary called from her seat at the table in the kitchen where she was doing her best to help prepare the dinner by quartering the green beans for Grandma Betty's famous casserole which was nearly ready to go in the oven. "I asked you to bring those crackers in here to crumble over the dish. We need to get it baking now so it will get done in time to eat."

"Yes, Mom," Erin replied back nervously before turning to lay down one last threat on her youngest brother. "You just remember how mad Tyler was," she warned. "He'll know exactly who tattled if he gets in trouble with dad, and he said he would come back and look for you!" she emphasized with a pointed finger shove to the shoulder of the little boy. "You'll be the one thrown in a tree and left up there, or worse!" she warned before grabbing the requested box of crackers and opening the door to make her way out into the kitchen. "Here you go," she added with a nervous glance over her shoulder at Jamie who slipped back out of the pantry unnoticed and went into the den to curl up with a pillow on the couch as his stomach started to turn again.

Tyler Bonshak was very big and scary when he was angry, and Jamie fretted about what Erin had just said… about him coming back to finish the job as promised if he tattled. A sudden flash of light at the window soon drew his attention though and the almost immediate following clap of thunder left his heart sinking as the sound of rain hitting the window intensified. A strong afternoon thunderstorm had rolled in with the rain and heavy winds lashing the house, and of course his poor Bobby Bonilla cleat that was outside alone and hopelessly tangled at the top of the tree where God would no doubt strike it down with a bolt of lightning for his role in all this mess. The loss was felt anew, and he covered his head under the pillow to hide his tears away.

The stress of those new worries combined with the lack of rest he had suffered in an effort not to look guilty like a perp in front of his father, plus the multiple missing meals soon added up though, and Jamie finally fell into an exhausted deep sleep there which is where Frank found him when his normally eager face failed to show up at the table after the call for dinner went out.

"He's sound asleep on the couch in the back," he informed the number of worried eyes that looked up as he returned without the little boy. "He's so tired, I didn't have the heart to wake him. We'll warm a plate up afterwards."

"Francis, if that child is not better by tomorrow morning, you must have him looked at!" Grandma Betty insisted vehemently with a worried frown. The tired, pinched expression on Jamie's face coupled with the fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pains and already apparent weight loss haunted her as she recalled those very symptoms with dread from a terribly painful time in the past… a truth about the loss of her first-born son, Peter Christopher, who had passed from leukemia at the age of eighteen months and which she herself had never shared within the family… a secret she had sworn her husband to keep as well. Henry gave her a tight look and a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head as he could read her thoughts at that moment. This was exactly how it had started with Peter. He had gone from a happy little boy one day to being diagnosed as deathly ill the next. He knew his own wife would not rest easy until their youngest grandson was given the all clear health-wise and returned to his normal buoyant self.

"Do you really think we need to worry? See, I told you so, Frank," Mary fussed. "Maybe we should go get him checked now…"

"I think he's just tired, Mom," Joey assured as he hated to see everyone so unduly concerned, especially because he knew now why his little brother was suffering. Maybe it had been a bad idea to advise him to wait to spill the beans until later tonight given the look on Erin's face which told him clearly that she knew of the little talk he'd had with Jamie and had likely applied more pressure to the kid in an effort to get him to keep his silence. "I'm sure he'll be better later after he gets some rest. Danny and I sort of wore him out with the baseball practice earlier. We thought the fresh air would do him good; it's our fault," he added with a firm look at his brother that dared him to back him up on that story or suffer the fate of needing to admit to everyone that he had pegged the kid on purpose to make him cry earlier.

"Yeah, Joey's got a good point," Danny affirmed with a small huff. Despite it being his idea and the fact that they were sworn partners in the good cop, bad cop deal, his brother had refused to reveal exactly what intel he had gathered on their op and it had left the oldest sibling a bit miffed and more curious than ever, but not enough to go against Joe in front of the family now with that look he had just received.

"I'm sure he's fine," Erin cut in quickly as she attempted to ward off the inevitable, while it garnered an evil eye from her middle brother who was on to her scam and furious that she'd let this go further and have Jamie poked and prodded at the doctor's office. Never one to quit, she figured her last chance was maybe to get that damn shoe back somehow and hold it for blackmail. "Maybe he'll even sleep until tomorrow," she added optimistically.

"If he's not better I'll bang in and drive him to the pediatrician myself, Mom," Frank promised as his concern was also now prompted by the tone of his own mother's voice, not to mention the fact that the actions of everyone else at the table were starting to raise his suspicions once more. There seemed to be a lot of warning glances and innuendo going on, even between his own parents, and it irked him to no end that he was still in the dark and wasn't able to put his finger on what was behind it all. "Danny will have Mary's car tomorrow morning. He needs to go over to the high school for his history test makeup. Isn't that so, Daniel?" he added with a distinct bit of a growl with his continued dissatisfaction over that situation. " _Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it,"_ he tested with a knowing look.

"Martin Luther King?" Danny guessed with great hesitation as he was distracted by being put on the hot seat himself.

"Edmund Burke," Frank sighed at the relative softball he had thrown out there for another swing and a miss. The odds on a substantial family discount for aluminum siding being available were going up by the hour it seemed.

Meanwhile in the den, Jamie's closed eyes began to dance rapidly side-to-side as he entered a deep stage of much-needed REM "rebound" sleep while a vivid dream descended. His breathing became more rapid and irregular, and his heart began to pound as he visualized himself being dragged down a long dark hall by two people, one on either side, but he was unable to call out or run away. It wasn't until the heavy wooden doors at the end were thrown open and the bright light from within bathed him that he realized it was Danny and Joe dressed in soldier uniforms who had him by either arm which were handcuffed behind his back.

"Bring the defendant in," a gruff-faced bailiff who looked suspiciously like the young Italian officer from the local precinct Jamie had seen on and off the last few years; one that his grandfather had said was named Renzulli and turning into a good cop who was being transferred soon with his partner to the 3-5 in Midtown. Chains began to rattle as his brothers pushed him inside, and it was then that Jamie realized he was also shackled around the waist and ankles while dressed in some sort of orange plaid… _gasp!_ It was that pair of Miami Dolphins footie jammies that Momma's friend Carol had bought for him last Christmas after a trip south and which had promptly been stuffed in the back of his closet never to see the light of day again until now. He hung his head in shame at the big teal smiling fish adorning his chest. On top of everything else, now he was also a traitor to the beloved Jets… everyone knew the Reagan family bled green, but what was going on and why was this happening?!

Jamie had little time to think about that while being unceremoniously stuffed in a chair behind a big, heavy wood table before a stone-faced pair of brothers moved off to the side to stand guard with big super-soaker water pistols strapped to their hips. "W-why am I here?" he finally found his voice while people filing into the room ignored his pleas. Suddenly the seat next to him was filled as Erin appeared dressed in one of his mommy's business skirt sets complete with heels that she tripped over as she sat down and put Danny's history book on the table. "Erin!" he cried. "What's happening? They won't let me go!" he added as he struggled against his bonds.

"You're being tried in Reagan family court for the very terrible crime of not telling all the truth and hiding missing evidence, namely one black and blue Robert Bonilla signature cleat-type shoe, plus assault with said deadly weapon. You have the right to remain silent, you little snitch. Use it. I'll handle this," she advised as she opened the book to the page Danny had been reading about Civil War prisoner punishments. When the back doors opened once more, Jamie heard the now familiar sound of a clop-patter coming down the aisle.

"Momma! Help me!" he begged as he turned his head to see Mary walking to the opposite side with her favorite cookbook in hand, but she wasn't dressed in her housecoat as she had been the past few days, instead she was fully decked out in pirate garb including a suggestive dress with off-the shoulder sleeves adorned with lace cuffs and neckline, complete with a panne vest with gold brocade front, brass buttons and a skirt with matching trim, red and gold striped overlay, a big embossed black belt, red waist sash and headscarf with fishnet stockings and, gulp… a peg leg.

"Mary Margaret Reagan, for the prosecution," she announced with a hand on her hip and an emphatic stomp of the wooden appendage, while Jamie could see Grandma Betty and Grandpa Henry sitting in the jury box behind her with their arms crossed and stern faces staring at him.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Francis Xavier Reagan," Renzulli announced as Joe and Danny stepped forward once more to drag Jamie to his feet in compliance.

"Show some respect, kid," Danny snapped as he jerked his arm hard while their father entered the room from the doorway behind the massive ornate bench dressed ominously in a black robe and sat down with a heavy frown on his face as he stared at his youngest son from high above.

"Proceed," he barked before pausing to tip his head and look over his glasses to the left. "But first may I add you're looking particularly lovely today Mrs. Reagan," he offered as his eyebrow raised at his unusually bedecked wife. "Perhaps we can meet for drinks later. I'd like to see a little more of that outfit… before I see a little less."

"Anytime after the kids go to bed, handsome," she replied suggestively with a wink.

"Alright, take 'yer seats," Renzulli griped. "Let's get this over with. Case of the good people versus one very bad little dweeb named Jamison Henry Reagan. Come to order."

"What say the good people?" Judge Reagan asked.

"The people contend we are all very disappointed in the behavior of Mr. Reagan. He lied by not telling all the truth; assaulted one Tyler Bonshak by bopping him on the nose with a new shoe; hid that evidence in a tree and made his momma feel bad and cry about getting a dent in her car."

An audible gasp radiated through the room at that last revelation.

"Those are very serious charges. Making your momma cry is the worst of the worst," Frank revealed with an angry glower. "What's your defense?"

"Mr. Reagan refuses to testify and takes the fifth," Erin answered quickly and covered his mouth once more before Jamie could explain.

"Very well," Judge Reagan acknowledged. "What say the jury?"

"Guilty!" Grandma Betty and Grandpa Henry exclaimed in unison. "Throw the book at him, Francis! He's not worthy of being a real Reagan!" Henry added.

"Agreed! Guilty as charged then!" Frank banged the gavel down so hard Jamie jumped in his sleep. "The people on punishment?"

"Pirate code says he walks the plank to be eaten by sharks," Mary asserted.

"Very well. You two," he indicated to Danny and Joe. "Take him and throw him off the Williamsburg Bridge. May God have no mercy on your soul and send a lightning bolt to destroy your shoe," he added as the brothers began to drag Jamie away.

Back in reality, a few minutes had passed without incident in the dining room as the family concentrated on their dinner while the lights flickered a few times as the storm continued to rage outside before another close strike had them all jumping in their seats and a shrill voice resonated from the den.

"NOOOOO! STOP! Please don't take me 'way!" Jamie screamed in his sleep and was thrashing hard as Joe was the first to reach him; his track star speed seeing him out of the blocks and away from the table almost before anyone else could budge.

"Hey, Jay… hey buddy… it's me, okay? I'm right here," he tried to soothe as he gathered the fighting boy in his lap and held on with his arms crossed over his chest, just as he had done countless times before whenever his little brother had a nightmare like this. "I think he's having one of those night terrors again," he informed the rest of the concerned family as they gathered around. "He won't wake up."

"NO! JOEY HELP ME! YOU SAID I COULD TELL THE TRUTH NOW AND IT WAS OKAY! MAKE 'EM LET ME GO!"

"Oh, cripes! He hasn't had one of these in years, wasn't he supposed to grow out of them?" Danny questioned as it pained him to see the kid going through that again although they were all well-versed in the fact that they needed to let him ride through this until it was over.

"OW DANNY! THAT HURT! YOU HIT ME ON PURPOSE! I WANNA TELL ALL THE TRUTH! GET 'WAY!"

"ME? No way, nuh-uh!" the oldest Reagan sibling defended immediately as all eyes fell on him. "I've got nothing to do with this! I was stuck in the house with Mom studying all day yesterday! Well, okay I beaned him a little with a baseball, but he was messed up before that!" he protested. "Ask Joe!"

"I CAN'T TAKE THE FIFTH, ERIN! I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS AND I'M ALREADY EIGHT! JUDGE DADDY, I'M NOT GUILTY! I WANNA TELL ALL WHAT HAPPENED!"

"The fifth? What's this he's crying about Erin Reagan?" Frank demanded as he looked at his daughter who had just gone three shades closer to transparent as she realized a very big secret was about to be spilled involuntarily by a little boy's overloaded subconscious.

"IT WAS TYLER'S FAULT! HE WAS HURTING HER SO I HIT HIM WITH MY CLEAT! BUT I WANT IT BACK! AND MOMMY PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME WALK THE PLANK AND GET EATEN BY SHARKS!"

"What on earth?!" Mary gasped. "He hit someone with his shoe? WHO WAS HURTING WHO?! The plank and sharks? What would he think I would make him do that? AND TYLER BONSHAK?! What does he have to do with all this? ERIN MARIE REAGAN! I better hear an explanation now!"

"Hey, Jay… c'mon calm down, buddy, please," Joey tried whispering in his little brother's ear again, hoping to reach him in some fashion even as he had Jamie pinned up against himself and he could feel the little boy's heart beating out of his chest. "I'm right here. No one's gonna hurt you, you're safe… okay, bud? I promise. You did it, you told all the truth and Erin's gonna make the rest of it right now, aren't you?" he hissed at his sister with a glare reserved for very few occasions by her normally mild-mannered middle brother.

"JOSEPH! YOU TOO? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?" Frank thundered with frustration, causing Jamie to go rigid once more. Everyone it seemed had gotten ahead of him and Mary on this one, and honestly he prided himself on his ability to see through this kind of nonsense, not to mention the fact that Tyler's name had set his blood to boiling once more.

"Dad, please… he's really shaking. Just… just don't yell in front of him now," Joe begged before explaining in a calm voice. "Jamie's been upset about all this and talked to me earlier. He was going to come to you tonight right after dinner and tell you everything that happened at his practice yesterday, but I think somebody's been threatening him to keep quiet again," he revealed with another pointed frown at his sister. "I guess he was so tired he fell asleep and all of this came out in one of his nightmares instead. Please don't be angry at him, Mom... Dad. He's scared, and he tried to do the right thing by standing up to Tyler when he saw him hurting his sister. None of this was his fault."

"Betty, I think maybe we should leave and let them work this out in private," Henry interjected as he took his stunned wife's arm. "I have a feeling everyone needs to breathe, and this is going to take them some time to sort through. Thank God in heaven it's something like this and not…. well, anything else, right?"

"Yes, of course, Henry," Betty stuttered as she allowed herself to be let away after laying a gentle kiss on Jamie's forehead as his struggles had quieted in no small part from Joe's attention, her indomitable Irish spirit at an uncharacteristic loss for words in this instance as relief won out over anger, at least in her mind. It was evident that Frank and Mary were just starting to wind up though and Erin was wishing she could melt away into the woodwork before the explosion came.

"My advice, send her up to her room and take a few minutes to cool off, Francis," Henry offered his son with a sympathetic pat on the way out of the room. "Deal with Jamie first and get Mary calmed down. Remember nothing's been done that can't be fixed. You were no angel at this age either, and I've got a dent in the fender of the Studebaker to prove it."

"Yeah, but you didn't have a girl," Frank muttered under his breath, knowing all the while that his father was right, and honestly he was getting a little alarmed himself at the look on Mary's face at the moment knowing that his wife and daughter could get into it like no one else. "Go," he growled with pursed lips at Erin as she stared at him like a deer in the headlights and she gratefully scampered away from her parents and up the steps at full speed with her heart still pounding in her throat.

"Frank…"

"One at a time, Mary… Pop's right. Let's just take a breath please and not make this worse…"

###

"So you really ran away that night to Grandpa Henry's house, Aunt Erin?" Sean asked, putting that card into his pocket in case the need ever arose.

"Yes, I did, Sean," Erin smirked as she looked down and smoothed out some wrinkles on her placemat. "By the time Jamie finally woke up hours later and Mom was done smothering him, I had practically worn a hole in my floor pacing and waiting for them to come up. Trust me, the worrying about what was coming was ten times worse than just taking it. If I had listened in the first place, none of that would have ever happened."

"Remember that, boys," Linda warned.

"And you too, Nicki," her mother added. "I sure learned the hard way, didn't I? Guess I forgot how important that was after all these years though," she admitted as she reached over and gave Jamie's arm a squeeze. "Thanks for reminding me again."

"Wait, what are you talking about… hours later?" Danny questioned as he remembered back to that night. "The kid was awake like twenty minutes after you ran upstairs. Joe stayed there and helped him explain everything. As soon as Mom and Dad talked to him for a couple of minutes and got him to eat something, they sat down and emptied a whole bottle of cabernet and waited for you to sweat it out upstairs for a while like you made him do. By the time they decided to make a move, you had already rabbited down the street in your pj's to hide out at Gramp's place."

"You did that?" Erin huffed as she looked over at her father. "I couldn't imagine what was keeping you downstairs so long, and I never saw a more fierce momma bear look than the one I ran away from. Thank goodness Mom was in that boot. I was afraid to make eye contact or sleep in my own bed for a week."

"That's just what Mary wanted," Frank reflected with a smile. "The two of you worked it out afterwards, it just took some time to get her trust back."

"Uncle Jamie, did you get in any trouble?" Jack wondered.

"No, Mom and Dad figured I could get off with time served," he chuckled. "I obviously learned my lesson about the truth and after all that they knew I wouldn't forget. I didn't," Jamie huffed with a grin at his father. "You can still sweat a guy without even trying, just like you knew something was up with me that whole time I was into the Blue Templar stuff."

"Well, that should have never happened either, but we covered all that already, and I was certainly not on my game that weekend," Frank admitted with a frown. "The whole family was putting one over on us."

"Danny, you didn't figure it out?" Eddie asked with a smile, knowing that must have annoyed her fiercely competitive detective brother-in-law to no end.

"Me? Hey, for once I was happy to be completely on the outside of all that. I would have run away from Mom with that look too."

"What about the test, Dad?" Sean prodded. "Did you pass? I'm confused. Grandpa Henry said you sold siding, but you became a police officer, anyway?"

"I passed," Danny insisted, "But my score wasn't quite high enough so I had to take the rest of the summer course for full credit. Mom and Dad made me work part-time with Uncle Al learning the ins and outs of the siding business too so I would make sure to apply myself and work hard at the Academy in the fall. Gramps pulled some strings and saved a spot for me."

"Not quite," Henry revealed to his oldest grandson for the first time. "Your score was high enough in the first place. I didn't have to call in any favors and your father would have never let me if that was the case. Francis just told the teachers to have you repeat the class so you actually learned your history and then forced you to work in Jersey to teach you a good lesson."

"Seriously, Frank? I hardly saw Danny for two months… he was always too busy with school or away. We almost broke up because of that!" Linda tutted.

"Geez, Grandpa!" Sean gasped. "You almost made Jack and me not be!"

"I'm sorry, Sean," Frank nodded in concession with a small smile. "But it all worked out in the end the way it was meant to."

"What about the dent in the car?" Nicki asked with interest since she was finding herself in the same pickle at the moment.

"Oh, I had to get a part-time job down at Mrs. Fetter's ice cream stand down across from Sunset Park to make the money to get it fixed," Erin admitted. "Hours and hours in the hot summertime making snow cones, sundaes and milkshakes for all the little dweebs and dweebettes playing baseball and softball with their sticky hands and faces," she shuddered. "I hardly got to do anything fun myself before school started again."

"Then whatever happened to Tyler Bonshak?" Jack asked. "Didn't he have to help pay for the car too?"

"Nah, Frank and Mary put that all on Erin. Bonshak works for the Department of Transportation now running an excavator on the road crew," Henry revealed. "Never did anything with that full-ride college scholarship he had. Got kicked out by the second semester."

"Terrific, so he digs ditches for a living now," Jamie muttered with a roll of his eyes. "I never so much as saw him again one time after that. Dad, did you get to him?"

"Oh, never had to. I heard through the grapevine he got a visit that night from a certain pair of gray hairs in a Studebaker and he moved across town to stay with his aunt in Chelsea until he left for school."

"Grandpa!" Erin exclaimed. "You went and threatened him? He never spoke to me again!"

"Wasn't my idea; it was Betty's," Henry revealed. "No one was going to lay a hand on her grandchildren and get away scott free. He was lucky she didn't take him by the ear and make him kneel down in her kitchen. Besides, she knew we had to keep Danny and Joe away from him."

"Heard he picked up a couple of DWI's late that summer from Renzulli and Jeffers when they were transferred up there to the 3-5 though," Frank added thoughtfully as he stroked his mustache. "Lost his license for a while and that car right before he turned eighteen. Funny how that happened."

"Those were legit stops," Henry growled. "Expired tags and a brake light out. Can't help it if Renzulli's got a nose on him and that Bonshak kid had a little weed and an open container in the car. Besides, he really turned things around after he agreed to enter my juvenile offender's program and got connected with the trade school out in Mahwah. He ended up being a decent guy and earns union wages for sitting on his can running equipment all day long. Last I heard he's got a wife and two kids, too."

"So everything worked out, like Frank said," Eddie sighed before sitting up straight and remembering one final detail that had been left out. "WAIT! What about the shoe? Did you ever get it back?"

"Of course he did," Danny scoffed. "How could we have called him little mister goody _two-_ shoes otherwise? C'mon Janko. If you want to make detective this year you better pick it up."

"Joe rode along with Danny to the school the next morning when he went to take his test and found it laying there on the ground. The wind from the storm must have knocked it down the night before. It was a little wet, but we dried it out and I went on to use it to bat .354 that season and made the Borough All-Star Team," Jamie replied with pride. "See Nick?" he added as he looked pointedly at his niece. "Stuff works out when you own up to it. That's why I got upset when you blew it off that accident and wanted me to lie to your mom. That guy acted just like Tyler and if Annabel and I hadn't been there he would have kept going until he did God knows what. You got out of it lucky this time and I sure don't ever want to ride up behind you on another call and find you in worse shape."

"I know, I'm sorry Mom… Uncle Jamie. Guess I was acting like an immature brat," Nicki admitted. "What I did was wrong and I'll be asking for some extra hours at the campus bookstore to pay for it. Glad I didn't have to have a nightmare like that to realize it though. Can you imagine?" she laughed. "Grandma Mary dressed up like a pirate with a peg leg in fishnet stockings?!"

"Oh believe me, we don't have to imagine it," Erin revealed as both Jamie and Danny joined her in shaking their heads at the thought while Frank's eyes twinkled and his mustache twitched upwards with the memory of a very pleasant evening that followed. "What do you think her costume was that Halloween?"

* * *

 _So there you have it, the great Reagan lesson of goody two-shoes, in five parts nonetheless. Remember to always tell all the truth unless you care for the vision of your mother dressed up in fishnet stockings. This Snapshot is actually longer than my first story "He lets me call him Frank now," lol! Next up might be a closer (and much shorter) look at Danny and Linda's third date night and that play for second base in the back of Henry and Betty's Studebaker after meeting the family at her first Sunday dinner._

 _Oh and it looks like the site reviews are broken *again* but please continue to leave them, I can read them by email and will respond to those I can just as soon as they unstick whatever is stuck and they show up on the page again._


	26. Second Base (Part I)

Chapter 26

Second Base (Part I)

 _A fun now triple-shot chronicling Linda's first Sunday dinner at Grandma Betty's house and based off the time Henry called Danny and his wife out over some extracurricular activity noted in the Studebaker on their official third date as teenagers during Chapter 47 of "It's all in the name…" proving that things in the Reagan past are never forgotten and always remain relevant._

* * *

"Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen," came Sean's requested rendition of grace before the Reagans dug into a Sunday dinner meal of butternut squash skewers and dip, apple cider glazed pork chops and grilled sweet potato fries one warm late October day while situated outside on the new expansive back deck at Jamie and Eddie's house which had been built specifically for Kaylin to play on with significant input and labor from her Uncle Danny over the summer. After he had risked life and limb climbing up the steps of the rickety old structure that night Jared Quinlan had invaded their personal space here, a certain older brother had vowed not to let his little niece be exposed to injury or have to stay out of her own backyard because of it, and now the whole family had gathered to enjoy the result of his efforts.

"Can't remember the last time we used paper plates or sat outside for one of these things," Henry observed even as he waved a few lazy pesky flies away. "Betty always wanted me to do something like this back here but I was never much of a picnic person," he admitted before glancing down the unusually quiet right side of the table with a frown, noting in particular that Linda and Jack were avoiding eye contact while Danny admittedly had a look of a cat that swallowed the canary… more so than just with apparent satisfaction over the results of his building efforts. "What's the matter over there, Staten Island? Kaylin's kitty got all your tongues?"

"Pop Pop!" the little girl sitting in her favored position at his left side chided. "It's my kitty Bear… and him like fishies best!"

"Of course," the eldest Reagan patriarch conceded with a small smile, although he had pointed out the obvious and at a Sunday dinner that was akin to putting chum in the water. Linda and Jack knew they were doomed to be consumed in the forthcoming feeding frenzy although he did make an attempt to get out of the water first.

"May I be excused?" he asked. "I'm not hungry."

"Not a chance, buster… do the crime, do the time," Linda warned as she fiercely buttered a piece of cornbread with a warning sideways glance.

"Are we missing something?" Frank asked as he looked down the line, appearing remarkably relaxed in contrast while dressed in a favorite beige cardigan over a plaid casual button-up shirt which looked fitting in the fall outdoor setting. "Pass the pork, please," he conceded and changed the subject when the temperature on that side did not warm a degree. "Eddie, these sweet potatoes are delicious," he followed with instead before Nicki reached over and served him the meat platter.

"Thank you, they're sliced then baked in foil on the grill with just a bit of olive oil and garlic salt," she acknowledged. "Jamie was in charge of the pork, but this was something we found on an online fresh foods menu planner. They give you a bunch of recipes to pick from and suggest like 20 non-frozen, non-processed ingredients for the week to make them all. We just thought it would be fun to change things up. He's totally into getting a certain someone to try different colorful veggies and eat healthier," she smiled with what at she thought was a knowing nod towards her daughter who was happily dipping her squash bits.

"Yeah, it's for Kaylin," Jamie smirked in agreement although his real mission had been to entice his newly-pregnant wife into eating better all along so he kept that card to himself for now since the plan was working perfectly.

"Well, I like them too," Sean added as he eyed up his brother's share that had gone untouched thus far. "What's the matter, Jack?" he added coyly with a devilish glint in his eyes while knowing exactly what he was about to start. "Maybe it's Charlotte that's got your tongue, and not the cat."

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID JERKFACE!" Jack uncharacteristically exploded in outright zero-to-sixty Reagan rage, his cheeks turning a thunderous red before getting up and racing inside and slamming the patio door behind him.

"Sean," Danny sighed as he scrunched up his face and put his napkin down on the table. "Sorry about that," he apologized to the rest of the family at the table and Eddie and Jamie in particular for the obvious wear and tear on their house and a little girl that had instantly ducked under the table. "Teenaged boys," he offered only in explanation. "I'll go talk to him."

"You will not!" Linda insisted as she flashed in anger once more. "Knowing you, you'll just go in there and give him a high five or something like that... Frank," she continued while turning to her father-in-law as the voice of reason even as Jamie was down on his hands and knees between them trying to fish Kaylin out. "Maybe you could explain to your grandson just how important it is to be a gentleman when you're trusted with taking a girl out on a date to the movies and walking her home," she fumed.

"Linda!" Erin tutted in surprise that something like that would be an issue, "Jack's a good, responsible boy… I'm sure that he would never…"

"Get caught leading off first base while swapping spit with her on the parent's front porch," Danny admitted before his wife was forced to say it herself. "He did, or so Linda was informed after church today by Mrs. Lewis."

"Oooh," came the collective reaction from the peanut gallery.

"She basically accused my son of being some kind of lothario," Linda huffed. "That's the word she used… the nerve of that woman, like she has room to talk… her daughter's obviously no angel either."

"What's that?" Sean wondered, totally entranced with how his brother's indiscretion was going to be viewed by the family. "A lothario?"

"A womanizer," Nicki explained simply.

"Oh… what's that mean?"

"It's none of your business, Sean," Linda insisted.

"Now that's funny," Jamie laughed much to his sister-in-law's ire as he resurfaced with a giggling, ticklish squirming little girl in his arms. "I haven't heard someone called that since my rookie year when I was out with Renzulli and we got a domestic call for this lady named Alice standing in the street under an apartment window with a blow up pig named Penelope and yelling at her cheating husband with a bullhorn… oh, um, sorry," he apologized after sitting down and immediately receiving a swift, hard kick under the table from Eddie. "I mean it _was_ funny… I had to deflate this enormous pink pig and then she came back with a real one on a leash..." he trailed off as his wife threatened to repeat her action. "Ahem… hasn't Jack been seeing that girl for a while?"

"Off and on… it was their third date."

"Oooh," came the repeated reaction from around the table.

"Well that explains it," Henry huffed as he sat back. "He is his father's son after all."

"What's the big deal about a third date?" Sean continued to pry.

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" Danny looked down at his grandfather and took offense to being called out while the realization hit Linda exactly where Henry was going with that comment and she likewise blushed as hard as her son did before he left the table.

"Danny..." she warned and tried to rein him in before he could continue to the point where it would have to be explained, not that they weren't already past that already given the rapt attention at the table and the Reagan family penchant for remembering and recounting everything.

"And you," Henry directed at Linda as he continued since it was already too late to shut him down when he was on a roll… she and Danny were doomed to have their own indiscretion aired in fine detail in front of everyone now and she knew it. "You of all people… why would you think Francis could do any better job with Jack? I mean he obviously didn't for Danny… that kid was too much for even Mary to handle at this age. If I recall correctly though, she's the one that thought she could stay on top of things by having him invite you to Sunday dinner for your third date."

"Oh, I remember that," Jamie laughed again as he chimed in once more with a big smile on his face as he sought likewise to return a recent favor and put the screws to his older brother since the opportunity presented itself. "I was what? Like seven or eight when the two of you started going out? And I couldn't for the life of me figure out why it took that much effort to go on a play date with a girl…"

###

"Whatcha doing with Daddy's razor, Danny?" eight-year-old Jamie Reagan asked as he sat on the floor in the upstairs hallway at the family home early on a late fall Friday evening and puzzled as he watched his older brother standing clad just with a towel around his waist in front of the sink in the steam laden bathroom after an extraordinarily long shower as he was shaking a can of shaving cream. "He says we're not 'llowed to touch that 'cause it can ouch you!"

"That's only a rule for little dweebs like you," Danny asserted as he pushed the button and spread an over-generous amount of foam on his face. "I've been shaving for years."

"You mean you've been buzzing a tiny little soul patch of peach fuzz with the electric shaver a couple of times a week for like six months now," a third Reagan brother's voice chimed in as Joe joined the conversation from the doorway of his room down the hall. "I bet he's going out with that new girl Linda Bellis tonight. Erin told me she saw you two talking after school again today before she left for the football game."

"Linda? Who's Linda?" Jamie demanded as his ears perked up.

"A hot girl," Joe kidded.

"Who's none of your business," Danny insisted. "She's just a friend, we like to talk."

"Okay, so she's _that_ kind of friend," Joe relented with a smirk of maturity beyond his years.

"What's that mean?" Jamie asked, still trying to keep up.

"You know, a girl who's a friend who wants to be more than a friend kind of friend… like someone he wants to take out on a hot date so he's trying to look like he's the man," the middle brother chortled.

"The man for what?" Jamie questioned as his curious little brow wrinkled. "And how can it be a hot date when it's cold outside?" he asked. "Momma made me wear a jacket to school today."

"Oh, brother," Joey snorted. "You are a little dweeb."

"Stop callin' me that!" Jamie insisted as he turned his attention back to Danny. "I thought you were best friends with that one Grandma doesn't like?"

"Marianne Romano?" Joe gave a hard belly laugh and had to sit down on the corner of his bed to steady himself as he recalled another one of Danny's other recent romantic overtures. "The car wash girl? Grandma wanted her to get arrested for indecent exposure."

"What's that?"

"Ow! Damn it!" Danny swore as the mere mention of his grandparents' recent encounter with a rather questionably intentioned well-endowed and unabashed so-called 'friend' in front of his impressionable little brother was enough to make him jump and nick the underside of his neck with the sharp blade.

"And Mom…" Joey continued to chuckle as the tears were rolling down his face now. "I thought she was really going to lose it when she found out you were seeing her. Dad had to hide the scotch that night."

"Well, I'm not anymore, besides Marianne's old news," Danny contended as he staunched the blood flow with a wad of toilet paper and continued on. "Shut up. Linda's different… she's pretty and smart, and she's got plans to apply for nursing school, plus she goes to church every Sunday with her parents. Mom will like that," he assured. "I'm taking her ice skating tonight so I need to borrow your blades, Joe," he reminded.

"Why? Mine are for hockey... rent your own," his brother finally calmed himself and frowned as he looked down the hall. "Besides you hate ice skating, anyway."

"So, I told her I play a little hockey," Danny explained. "What? I tried it, didn't I? I never said I liked it or I was any good, and those were mine first. C'mon Joe. Rentals will cost me another five bucks."

"Fine," his younger brother relented and pulled the pair of skates out of his bag before putting them out in the hall. "But I want them back."

"Whatever," Danny answered as he washed his face and then inspected his work carefully before slapping on a generous amount of pungent aftershave. "I probably don't need them to make it look good, anyway. I've got it all planned out; I'm even stopping at this candy place before we get there to buy her these special flavored chocolates that I know she likes… Stork's orange creams. I'm in."

"In for what?" Jamie asked. "Ew, Danny! That's so gross!" he grimaced as the overpowering smell wafted over and he quickly scrambled up off the floor. "You really stink now! I'm going downstairs! I never have to do all this stuff whenever Momma lets me go to the park to play with Theresa Mancini and she's my friend," he insisted before bounding down the stairs.

"Jamison! No running on the steps!" Mary called out from the kitchen where she was seated with Frank reading the paper and having coffee together, finished cleaning up the aftermath of a simple dinner of pasta and salad he had brought home after work. "Remember what happened before? Your father and I are not in the mood to sit in the emergency room waiting for you all night again."

"Sorry, Momma!" Jamie apologized as he slid into a chair at the table with his parents. "Can I…"

"May I," his parents both corrected automatically without looking up while Mary paged to the next section.

"May I please have some ice cream for dessert and eat it in the living room while I wait to watch 'Bama play Southern Miss on ESPN with Joey?" Jamie asked hopefully. "The special Dutch chocolate kind?"

"That's right, the big college football game is coming on later. Joey's been talking about that for weeks. Go ahead," Frank allowed with a small smile at his enthusiastic young son as he hurriedly rushed off to prepared a big bowl for himself, scraping the bottom of the container in the process. "What's Danny doing? Maybe you should save some for him; that's his favorite flavor, too."

"Danny has a hot date with his new girlfriend named Linda," Jamie tattled in typical eight-year-old fashion as he happily licked the scoop before putting it in the dishwasher... after all no one told him it was supposed to be a secret. "He shaved with Daddy's razor and made himself all stinky with stuff so they could go ice skating and eat orange chocolate," he revealed while adding a generous squirt of Hershey's syrup and a blob of whipped cream to his confection. "I think that's stupid. Nobody's supposed to put chocolate on oranges."

"Language, Jamison!" Mary frowned as she flipped the corner of her paper down and raised an eyebrow while fishing for more information. "Danny has a date with a new girl tonight?" she asked. "He really called her his girlfriend?"

"Yup," her youngest replied before taking his bowl and spoon into the other room. "You know, a girl that's a friend who wants to be more than a friend kind of friend," he prattled off Joe's definition on the way out.

"Well, that's interesting, isn't it?…" his mother trailed off. "A friend who wants to be more than a friend kind of friend and he's taking this one to the skating rink without mentioning her to us first? Danny hates the ice. How much money did we spend on all that hockey equipment before he went out there at the very first practice and quit when he fell down a couple of times and got frustrated? He's already gone out with her before? Why am I always the last one to know everything around here?"

"Mary…" Frank warned. "The boy's a senior in high school this year. He's been on dates with other girls before… maybe it's a good sign that he's doing something that she obviously likes. I think that's progress, besides Joey plays hockey, we didn't waste that money."

"So what? You think Danny's serious about this one?" she hissed back with a nervous look towards the living room in case her oldest was in earshot. "He's not mature enough for that, and look at the choices he's made recently… I mean that Romano girl, honestly?"

"Sweetheart, up until two minutes ago, I had no idea this Linda even existed," Frank sighed in reply. "Let's not go there again, and how can he be serious if this is only their second date?" he added with a glance at the den and the liquor cabinet, contemplating whether he should hide the key for the foreseeable future.

"But after that comes the third one and you _know_ what they say about that," she insisted as for whatever reason her mother's intuition was now on high alert and she was sensing a difference in her son's attitude towards this young lady she hadn't even met yet. "He needs to focus on his schoolwork or he'll be a so-called senior next year too, besides look at this article in the Times today," Mary added as she put the paper down on the table and pushed it over to her husband. "I was just reading it because of Erin, but the end of it deals with what they've discovered from the other side."

" _Inside the Mind of the Boy Dating Your Daughter,"_ Frank recited with a heavy sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, Mary..."

"No, seriously… see right here," she pointed. "Listen to this, it says the data also suggests that teenage boys will be receptive to parental messages about the importance of getting to know a girl and respect within relationships, even if they act otherwise. They quoted a Dr. Smiler as saying that very few parents really talk to their sons about relationships. He said we know that many parents do have these kinds of conversations with girls."

"Mary, I already had the talk with Danny, and I made it abundantly clear what's expected on all points. Trust me, there are no gray areas there."

"Not _that_ talk, Frank," she frowned. "Dr. Smiler said parents should try to teach boys and girls about both romantic and platonic relationships, how to develop and maintain them, how to deal with ups and downs and how to forgive and regain trust."

"But that's just common sense and we've always done both with words and by example. Danny's been raised in a home by hands-on Irish Catholic parents and a set of grandparents who have been married over forty years. He knows about respect in a relationship… and Smiler, really?"

"Obviously we have not done our job at all if he thinks Marianne Romano was an acceptable choice."

"They went out for like a week."

"It was way longer than a week, Frank… and if this new girl that he wants to be friend's with wants to be more than a friend kind of friend, we're going to make sure that both of them understand the importance of getting to know and respect one another _before_ anything else takes place, and that means we need to step in early this time and get out in front of it."

"And how exactly do you propose doing that?" her husband asked, his head still spinning around that circular directive and yet now afraid to hear the answer.

"Simple," Mary replied. "We'll just have him invite her over on Sunday and judge for ourselves."

###

"So that's why you came to the infamous dinner so early on," Eddie observed as she commiserated with Linda as an outsider. "Weren't you scared? I know I was that first time, and Jamie even brought me in with Kaylin for her family birthday party so I had cover."

"Me? No… I mean we were so young and I had no idea what any of it was about. When Danny said his mom and dad wanted to meet me and to come over for a meal after church at his grandparent's house… that we'd only stay for a little while and then go out afterwards, yeah I was a little nervous, but I really liked him so I was more afraid not to. Boy, was I naïve back then," she admitted with a small laugh. "But he asked after he bought me my favorite chocolate so I couldn't say no."

"Obviously," Henry inserted himself back into the conversation once more to bring them back on point and remind them how this related to Jack's current predicament. "And you say this Charlotte girl was no angel. Humph!" he emphasized. "Mary wasn't the only one hitting the scotch that night. Betty had such high hopes for you when you showed up at our house in that sensible blue sweater with those fancy buttons and a crucifix necklace on straight from church," he reminded with a grin as both Linda and Danny grimaced and looked down in embarrassment at the thought of his grandmother discovering the truth in that manner. "Did we ever get a surprise in the backseat when we went out to pull the car out of the garage after that dinner!"

* * *

 _My apologies for the delay in posting this Snapshot or any other updates recently, but after a busy summer with the kids and hubby, and a bit of a block in the beginning, I've been on a real roll with the new story "Resurgence" in the "werks" and I was afraid I'd truly regret it if I broke the streak off too early by switching gears. That one is well over 40 chapters in at this point and I honestly cannot see the end in sight so won't even speculate as to when it might be done… would love to have it come out around Thanksgiving to fit the timeframe, but no promises as there are many characters with complex storylines to weave in. I also have a few more Snapshots completed, but am trying to stay in order and those really need to post right before "Resurgence" comes out because they are essentially prequels to it._

 _In the meantime, all that finally got to such an intense point even I needed to take a step back and refresh, so hence the new fun mini-story here with the second chapter of this now three-part installment to post in a few days to give me a chance to put the finish on it. As this wraps up, we'll find out exactly what went down at that first dinner and how Henry and Betty knew there had been some hanky-panky in the back of the Studebaker afterwards._


	27. Second Base (Part II)

Chapter 27

Second Base (Part II)

 _The second part of what is now a triple-shot continues just before Danny and the girl who's a friend who wants to be more than a friend kind of friend arrive for Sunday dinner as we get a little more insight into the Reagan family's mindset that day._

* * *

"But Grandma, why do I have to move to the other side of the table?" Jamie griped as he followed Betty into the dining room of her house while carrying the serving spoons and napkins as directed to help with the place settings. "I like to sit next to Grandpa… he tells me stories. Joey won't give up the spot at his end by Daddy so then I have to be by Erin," he huffed with a frowny face. "She always pokes me with her elbows 'cause there's no room over there."

"Jamison, child... we mustn't complain now. There's a guest coming today and your grandfather wants to make certain she feels welcomed. I'm sure she'll want to sit next to Daniel too, so that means you need to show kindness and give her your spot. Your father put another leaf in the table, there's plenty of space on the other side now."

"Aw, phooey," came the muttered reply under a little boy's breath. "S'not fair."

"Yes, well, be that as it may someday when you bring a young lady to dinner for the first time you may feel differently. Now, please stay out of the kitchen, dear. The adults are all in there talking and your mother and I are distracted and busy cooking so the oven is hot and we have boiling pans on the stove… I don't want you to get burned while we're not watching, and we don't need another trip to the emergency room with you today. Go out and sit with Joseph in the living room."

"But I'll be careful and Momma always lets me help to smash the potatoes!" he protested again before dropping his shoulders when it became apparent from his Grandmother's look that he would not win that argument. "Yes, ma'am," he conceded and then turned to run out of the room with eyes brimming as he obediently crawled up next to his older brother on the couch.

"What's the matter, kid?" Joe asked as he looked up with surprise from the book he had been reading in preparation for a big literature test at school the next day before wrapping an arm around Jamie to pull him over for a hug. "You okay?"

"Nobody else wants me to be with them, Joey," Jamie offered in a small voice as he curled up next to him and a few tears spilled over.

"What? That's not true," Joe consoled softly as he could see his little brother was honestly upset.

"Yes, 'tis," Jamie insisted as he sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Danny left, and he didn't even say hi to me today and Momma and Daddy only wanted to say stuff about Linda this morning 'fore church and now Grandpa likes her best and moved me away at the table so I have to sit by Erin and Grandma said I can't even help with dinner," he cried at the perceived injustice of it all. This was all that Linda's fault.

"Oh... well, Danny's just nervous because Mom found out he was seeing someone new and made him do this, and the rest of the grownups are all excited because he's the oldest of us and it's the first time he's bringing a girl over, that's all… it's kind of a big deal for them and Mom's worked up about it for some reason. You know how she gets sometimes so Dad is trying to settle her. Nobody's forgetting about you or doesn't want you with them… they're just occupied with other stuff today."

"I don't like Linda," Jamie admitted with a hiccup as he had worked himself into a state. "I wish she would go 'way so we could be the same."

"Aw, now don't say that," Joe chided. "That's not fair… you have to give her a chance first. You're just afraid things might change around here a little, but she could be really nice to you. How about if I move down a seat and you can sit next to Dad on the other side… will that help?"

"You would?"

"Yeah, I'll do that for you… only this week though. I hate when Erin pokes me with her elbows too. If Linda ever comes back you'll have to try to get used to it unless they move her somewhere else, okay?"

"M'kay… thanks, Joey."

###

"You wanted me to go away because of potatoes? That's why you judged me? Gee thanks, Jamie," Linda griped with a small smirk. "I wondered why you were giving me eyes across the table that day. Just for that you can smash all the ones you want every week from now on."

"Nah, Erin's got that down pat with those skinny bat wings of hers, plus she complains when we add too much salt," Danny interjected. "You don't want to get near her in the kitchen either."

"Hey! What's with that? I don't poke anyone!" Erin frowned. "You all just get in my space!"

"Yeah, no… it's kind of your thing, Mom," Nicki corrected. "I've just gotten used to it."

"That's what you were worried about? Losing your chair next to Grandpa and Erin's elbows at the table?" Eddie laughed out loud at her husband. "What does that say about where you are now, huh?" she added considering both she and Kaylin had been granted the privilege of being seated between Henry and Jamie after they joined the family dinners at the more regular setting of the family home which had been mirrored on the patio this week.

"That I was willing to give up the best seat in the house for my girls?"

"Humph, I figured you were just tired of hearing my stories," Henry admitted.

"No, I would never move over for just anyone, Gramps," Jamie smiled. "They'd have to be pretty special."

"That's true, Eddie," Danny admitted although he couldn't help but toss a little burr into the mix considering his brother's enthusiasm for bringing up this sorted mess again. "After all, I can't recall a time the kid slid over and let Syd sit there… he was more willing to throw her to the wolves down here at this end… even the first time she came."

"So why was that?" Eddie demanded as the subject of Sydney very rarely came up and it heightened her curiosity to see how she compared. "Did you think she was more confident? Were you trying to protect me?"

"No, you always had my back in the field, so maybe it felt right to do the same here for you… plus Kaylin needed to be between us... and you seemed really to relate to Gramps. I don't honestly know," Jamie admitted as he sat back and considered that for the first time.

"Syd held her own here and had strong views," Frank answered for his son as he smiled at his newest daughter-in-law. "In that way she was not unlike you, sweetheart… but I'm not sure she and Pop shared too many of the same ideals though… probably would have made for a few more interesting dinners that way," he admitted.

"I guess I never even thought about it…" Jamie continued where he left off. "Just seemed to be where you both fit. I mean it's kind of weird but where we tend to sit at the table has kind of evolved over time as people have come and gone."

"It's true… Mom always used to sit in this chair," Erin admitted. "When she left… I just couldn't let it be empty," she added. "So I moved here that next week and Nicki came with me."

"It was your place," Frank agreed with a nod to his daughter.

"Before that when Betty passed, we moved the dinners to his house and Francis took my spot… Joe switched places with Mary so she could have that seat," Henry admitted. "But Linda and Danny have always stayed where they were, and I ended up next to Jamie again."

"And after Uncle Joe… the boys took his place," Nicki agreed with a sad realization. "We've never left a chair empty… and all the people that came after and belonged here just fit in."

"Just like Linda did that first Sunday, and you're still in the same spot," Frank smiled as he remembered back. "Don't ask me how, call it mother's intuition, but Mary knew you would before she laid eyes on you, and when you walked in the door that day… it terrified her."

###

"Come in, come in… right this way, young lady, now don't be bashful," Henry led the pretty young blond wearing a zip up white jacket over a soft blue cashmere sweater with silver fleur-de-lis buttons and a knee-length skirt into the living room from the front door. "Daniel, where's your manners? Get her coat and hang it in the closet… and next time go easy on the aftershave there, son," he advised under his breath as one whiff was enough to let everyone in the immediate area know that Danny had been at it with Frank's razor again.

"Thank you, Commissioner and Mrs. Reagan," Linda Bellis offered with a soft smile as her obviously flustered new boyfriend complied with the order. "You have a lovely house," she added politely.

"These are my grandparents…" Danny stated the obvious as he returned to hover behind her, his heart thudding a million times a minute, just as it had been from the very second two nights ago when he had asked her to come today and she had said yes… he'd hardly thought of another thing since.

"Henry and Betty, no misters or missus for the grayhairs in this house, anyway," Henry broke in as Betty stepped up and offered a welcoming "Hello, dear," while her Irish Catholic eyes immediately noted the conservative dress and small gold crucifix on a chain with maternal relief, having recently had an up front and close personal view of Marianne Romano's personal "assets" under a wet tee at the carwash.

"My mother and father," Danny continued with a quick, hesitant glance at Mary to get a read on what his mother was thinking and her rather blank look was enough to send ice water through his veins. "Um... Mary and Frank?" he questioned not knowing the protocol for this encounter.

"Or Mr. and Mrs. Reagan, whatever you're comfortable with," Frank smiled as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders when she offered no verbal reply and felt a stiffening resistance there. "We're both happy to meet you," he added anyway.

"Likewise," Linda offered with another shy look that further sank Mary's heart. This girl was pretty and sincere… everything that a mother could hope for and she knew by his actions and demeanor that Danny had already fallen head over heels for her… he was taken with another woman, the oldest but still a baby in her heart.

"You probably know my sister Erin from school, and that's my younger brother Joe."

"Don't forget me!" came the insistent cry from the other side of the couch.

"Right, the little kid's my other brother Jamie."

"Well, the food is done already, why don't we take this in the dining room and eat before everything gets cold," Betty suggested. "Joseph and Erin… help you father and grandfather carry the dishes in."

"'Bout me?" Jamie piped up.

"Next time, child. The rolls are already on the table and everything else is too heavy for you," she advised as she shooshed him towards the hallway.

"Aw, phooey," came the grumpy reply as Jamie made his way to the table and took Joey's seat as he glared across while Danny pulled _his_ usual chair out next to Henry for this Linda to claim as her own.

"Sorry we were late," Danny offered with a sheepish look at his grandmother. "I had to wait until Linda came home from church on Staten Island to pick her up and she said there was traffic on the Verrazano on the way back."

"Your church is all the way over there?" Henry puzzled. "Our St. Anthony's right here in Bay Ridge is just up the street and don't you go to the Catholic high school with Danny and Erin?"

"Yes, sir. We just moved here at the end of the summer though," Linda informed. "My parents found a house on the other side of Dyker Heights since my father works in Mapletown now, but they still like to go back to St. Anne's on Sundays. I'm sure once we're here for a while they'll switch."

"It's good for a family to keep their roots in the community," Betty nodded her approval as everyone else took their seats. "Joseph, say grace please," she directed and then waited until he was finished before continuing. "Still, that must have been hard for you to change schools in your last year, dear."

"Oh, well it kind of was, but I'm hoping to get into the nursing program at St. Victor's after graduation and they offer some early admission classes so it was good for all of us to be closer. Being in Bay Ridge has been nice so far though," she added with a deliberate flirting glance at Danny that was not missed by his mother.

"I'm sure it has been," Mary finally found her voice replied with a rather tight, forced smile. "Pass the potatoes."

###

"Geez, this family has an obsession with spuds. That was code for 'I don't want to talk about this' even way back then," Nicki noted with a grin at her grandfather who was known for using that line at the table on many occasions. "Did Grandma ever warm up to you that day?" she asked her aunt.

"She eventually did," Frank answered for her. "By the end of the dinner I thought things were going as well as could be expected, at least with Mary. That's when Danny decided he couldn't take any more of his sibling's teasing and needed some air so he got out of the house by walking Linda up to Montclair's for ice cream before coming back for the car to take her home. Isn't that right, Daniel?" he frowned as he considered the point Henry had made earlier about his mother needing to hit the scotch that night as well as the comment that followed about Linda being no angel… she had certainly seemed to have the Reagan family matriarch's stamp of approval when they had left that day so something must have happened after that.

"That was the plan," Danny admitted tightly, unable to lie with any conviction in front of the entire family even after all of these years. "Until some little dweeb messed things up," he muttered.

"Me?" Jamie laughed as he looked around and shook his head in confusion. "Wait, what did I do? Joe's the one that had all those good one liners about your aftershave… I mean, seriously, man… you set yourself up for that. I was just honestly gagging across the table. Thank God you threw it out and switched to something more low key right after that… it made my eyes water."

"I think what Danny was referring to was you finding the coat I forgot in the foyer closet," Linda admitted and pressed her lips together tightly as another glow of embarrassment washed over her cheeks again.

"So? What does that have to do with anything? I saw it when Grandma told me to put my jacket on and Mom and Dad took the rest of us home right after that because Joey needed to study for his test. Grandpa said that they were going to quick run up to Montclair's in the car to give it back to you since we walked over," Jamie replied while sitting back and pushing his plate forward with a puzzled shrug towards his grandfather. "I still don't get it."

"Heh, but your brother tried to though... right, Daniel?" Henry glowered.

"That true, son?" Frank raised an eyebrow at his oldest as he was finally starting to put two and two together now after twenty years.

"Pass the sweet potatoes," Danny sighed as he confirmed his father's conclusion.

* * *

 _I know, I know… I promised this one in two chapters originally, but it ran long as they always seem to do when I get started so it turned into a triple-shot. Hope that's okay. While we're on the subject, the next snapshot subject matter is a little up in the air… I'm planning on doing a somewhat longer sad love story featuring our two favorite grayhairs, but I've promised a particular fellow author who is always such a huge help and inspiration to me (and you know who you are) that I would address the subject of Jamie's apparent buzz cut on the S7:E2 epi tonight, at least in the realm of werks-world if the BB writers let us down again with no good explanation, so drop a note and leave some feedback on that one yay or nay and I'll consider tackling it first like a certain three-year-old with a pair of safety scissors might. I'm just sayin' :)_

 _And it appears the reviews aren't displaying again for the second time this week. **SIGH** Please continue to leave them and cast your vote for the next snapshot since I can read most of them via email and they will show up here once again eventually. The decision will be posted with Part III and the conclusion of this installment tomorrow._


	28. Second Base (Part III)

Chapter 28

Second Base (Part III)

 _Wow, just... wow. Still speechless over the Jack drinking and skipping school bit at 14 in last night's epi... and that nothing was brought up at the family dinner about it while they worried about a blatantly rude cop instead? How un-Reagan-like. Not happening here! Get set for some hands-on Irish grandparenting!_

* * *

"Mary Margaret Reagan," Frank sighed after a probing hand under the covers on her side of the bed located only cold sheets and sent him wandering into the kitchen in the middle of the night to find her sitting there alone at the table with a pen in hand, a piece of stationery paper and a new open bottle of scotch with a quarter-filled tumbler of the amber liquid in front of her. "Honey, what is the problem this time? I mean I understood with that Romano girl that you didn't like her or think she was good enough for him… but this one? Good grades, polite, Catholic with a solid future plan to become a nurse?"

"That _is_ the problem this time, Frank," she acknowledged while taking a sip to steady herself as she admitted the truth. "I didn't want to like her… but I do, and so does your son."

"Ooo… kay," he drawled out with a still-puzzled look on his face. "And just how many of those have you polished off?" he inquired as he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and sat down to join her. "Because you're talking crap."

"Just one, and knock it off," she chastised before beginning again. "I am not talking crap. Really? Is that all you have to fall back on? I didn't want to like her, Frank… and I guess I really didn't want him to like her as much as he does because I wanted her to go away so we could all be the same again."

"Now you sound like Jamie, and he's eight," Frank reminded.

"But she fit in today… she had a place," Mary continued as she ignored that fact and produced the patented Reagan frown. "You could see that the longer she stayed. Soon we'll have to make way for someone for Erin, and then Joseph and Jamison as they grow up and move away from us… college, careers, families…"

"Like we did, dear… we did all those things. You came along and I brought a wife and four children into this family, yet I still eat Sunday dinners with my parents in their house. If that's the trend we'll run out of room here and need to add on again instead of having to put chairs up."

"I didn't have that growing up," Mary admitted with a sigh as she blinked back a tear or two. "My parents were there… but not present like I want us to be for our children."

"We are already that," Frank assured. "And that's one thing that I know won't change although I can't believe I'm already old enough to have a son who's interested in girls that way," he tried to lighten. "Do you remember that, Mary Margaret? We weren't any older than them when we first met, although it took us a while to act on it… my fault I guess. I needed a bit longer to get up the courage to bring you in."

"I do, and I remember how scared I was to meet your mother that first time," she smiled as she reached across the table and grabbed his hand as acceptance began to take over the initial feeling of panic she had experienced. "You were afraid to so much as look at me in front of her that day… just like Danny was, he still looked nervous and white as a sheet tonight when he got home," she offered with no way of knowing of course that all of that bottled up tension had found an outlet in the back of the Studebaker… a known fact that would be held in private by a certain set of grayhairs for many years to come. "I suppose I must give this Linda credit for facing down Betty and me at the same time," she added with a wry smile as she picked up the piece of stationery paper and glanced at the first few lines written there. "Go back to bed, dear," she urged. "I'll be up in a few minutes. I promise. There's just something I need to finish first."

"Alright," he replied while getting up and pointedly removing the bottle of scotch after recapping it. "I'll be waiting for you," he left her with and she sat back and listened to his footsteps trailing away up the stairs before continuing with her letter.

 _Dearest Linda,_ it started.

 _When I first heard that you were dating my Danny, I wasn't happy. In fact, I just wanted to close my eyes and pretend you didn't exist. I just knew that I wouldn't like you. How could I? No one would ever be good enough for my son, and your mere presence meant that so many of the things I held dear in our lives would be changing soon._

 _Then I saw the two of you together, and I knew immediately that you were a sweetheart and a good soul. Over that first dinner, we got to know each other a little, and I was able to see how well you fit together with not only him, but all of us._

 _But more than that, now I have a few things I'd like to say to you..._

###

"Wait… how do you know what was in the letter Aunt Linda?" Nicki asked. "Did Grandma Mary actually give it to you? When? What did she say?"

"She did. I found a sealed envelope in my coat pocket when we were leaving the house the night after we told everyone that Danny had proposed and we were engaged now. She knew from that very first day somehow… unless she had a stack of them written out somewhere," Linda laughed a little and teared up as she remembered the contents. "She told me I was beautiful, and to never let someone tell me different… to follow my goals and not let anyone including Danny stop me… to never let him disrespect me, and that she remembered how it was to be young and in love, but not to forget who I was… that sometimes it's easy to lose yourself and to become one with the person you're with. I still have it in my jewelry box and I look at it whenever I need to be reminded of those things."

"That's so amazing," Eddie admitted as she sat back with a sad sigh. "Now I _really_ wish I would have had the chance to know her too," she added as she reached over and squeezed Jamie's hand.

"Me too," he murmured.

"And had Mary known what else happened that day… maybe that letter would have never been written and your relationship with her might have been different all those years," Henry offered with a knowing look towards both Linda and Danny. "That's why Betty and I decided to keep it to ourselves and handle it in this house… and why you should have done the same for Jack and this Charlotte," he advised with an air of consternation as he stood up. "Now, while I go talk to the boy maybe you can remember what it was like back then and decide if it's something that you would have wanted brought up for open discussion around the table," he finished before the sound of the patio door opening and closing left them with one less in number again.

"What's Grandpa talking about?" Sean asked, his ingrained sense of curiosity running in overdrive now. "What else happened that day? And what did he find in the backseat?"

"NOTHING!" Danny and Linda both exclaimed in unison as Frank sat back and thoughtfully rubbed that iconic mustache of his as he considered his father's words and wondered just how he and his wife had been kept in the dark over it for all that time.

###

"Humph, thought I might find you in here with him," Henry noted as he rounded the corner and spotted Jack sitting on the couch in the living room with Bear curled up next to him… a fluffy tail slowly twitching in contentment back and forth as the boy's hand softly scratched his ears. In spite of being known as particularly fearsome to strangers, the cat was affectionate to most members of the family, especially the youngest ones with the clear exceptions of Eddie's mother Eva and Danny of course. "Sometimes it's good to talk to somebody who can't talk back… at least not in so many words."

"I wish everyone here was like that sometimes," Jack lamented as he refused to look up and let his grandfather see that he had been crying. "There's never any privacy…"

"... in this family," Henry finished for him. "You're right, and you know I've heard that a time or two from just about everyone over the years," he admitted as he sat down in the opposite chair. "Your Uncle Jamie especially because he was like you and always wanted to keep his own business. Don't forget he had to grow up with a lot of nosy noses pointed at him all the time since he was the youngest."

"And now they're looking at me and laughing," Jack added with a shameful downturned face. "Everyone knows what happened and they think it's funny except Mom… she's just mad about it because Mrs. Lewis yelled at her and now she doesn't like Charlotte anymore either."

"Well, no one out there except your little brother hasn't been through something like that… it's sort of a right of passage when you're growing up, and moms tend to do that… they never think another girl is good enough for their son. Your great-grandmother was the same when Francis was seeing Mary, and your grandma was the same when your dad first brought your mom here… and they understand a lot more than you know," he added as he sat back. "Now the question is, what do you think of this girl?"

"Charlotte? I think I really like her," Jack stuttered. "I mean I do, it's just that…" he trailed off.

"What is it?" Henry asked, sensing the boy's hesitation. "There's something," he continued to prod with his still-sharp detective's brain now in full swing and considering other options that contradicted his earlier automatic assumption of a son following in his father's promiscuous footsteps. "You took her out awhile ago to go ice skating, didn't you? But your mom said this was only your third date?"

"She sometimes goes out with other guys, too..." his great-grandson admitted. "More experienced guys," he revealed sheepishly since Henry seemed to be listening without judgement and he felt the overwhelming need to get something off his chest.

"Ah," the older man nodded knowingly as he read Jack's body language and then prayed that the next statement was true. "Something tells me that you're not quite ready for that, are you?"

"Well, I haven't... no, I mean I'm not, but she asked me to the movies and Trevor said if I don't at least go to second base… then nobody cool like Charlotte will go out with me again."

"So that's why what happened on the porch… happened, right? You listened to what your friend said instead of what you've been taught in this family about respect and values from day one… Tell me, is that what Charlotte asked for?"

"Not exactly," Jack admitted as he looked up. "She told me when we were walking home together that it was nice to go out with me because we could relax and have fun, and she definitely wanted to kiss me good night, but... I would have never… I mean if she said she didn't want to..."

"So you just assumed she wanted you to be like these other guys… the more experienced ones, right? Not that maybe she wanted to go out with you because she saw something different… a gentleman, perhaps."

"Maybe… but I didn't ask," Jack replied in frustration, wondering now if he had indeed made the wrong move. "Grandpa this is all so confusing!"

"Well then I'm going to simplify things and tell you the same thing Grandma Betty told your mother and father when they had a little incident like what you went through... we were the only ones that knew about it then and sat them both down right here in this very living room. Mind you, it took everything Betty had not to drag your father in here by the ear once she figured out what was really going on…"

###

"Danny! What's going on? What are we doing in here?" Linda giggled as he led her around the side of the house and into his grandparents' garage where their seldom-used classic black 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner was stored.

"It's okay, no one will come in," he assured as he closed the door behind him. "Since he's the Police Commissioner, people drive Gramps around most of the time and Grandma Betty thinks it's a sin to go anywhere but church or our house on a Sunday."

"But that doesn't explain what _we_ are doing in here," she added flirtatiously with a little tug on the collar of his shirt that clearly was meant to invite something further.

"Oh, well then maybe this will," Danny offered as he pulled her close and trapped her up against him… his pulse quickening as he leaned in and tilted his head slightly and felt her return the gesture. Their lips pressed up against each other as their eyes closed while the intimacy heightened. "I thought we could use a little privacy before you have to go home since I've been wanting to do this all afternoon," he admitted as he gave way to some impure thoughts. "That sweater… fits in all the right places you know…" he added as they lingered between kisses that were steadily growing in mutual intensity before as he slowly drew his lips away and looked in her eyes, seeking direction for what was next as his hand slipped down her side after trailing suggestively over the cashmere concealing her soft curves. "I don't want to… you know, if you don't…"

"No, that was nice," she shivered as the excitement from his touch rushed through her in the cool fall air of the approaching evening while she brought his hand up and held it to her bra line once more. "Maybe just some more of that and _this,"_ she whispered as she pulled him over the now firm points as his knees grew weak with the offer of rounding first and sliding into second. "But I'm not ready for anything else, Danny…"

"Okay… me neither then," he agreed, unsure of how to proceed and grateful for the direction with this clearly special girl when previous encounters with others of Marianne's ilk had gone from zero to sixty just to fulfil physical urges in the backseat of a parked car somewhere. That realization, however, brought up the thought that he should have planned better not to have this encounter to go down in a dusty old garage with no… what was it his father called it? Ambience?… He had to show more class than that but his options were now limited. "Where?... I mean can we just sit down somewhere?" he asked with a glance around. "C'mere," he grinned and pulled her over to the Studebaker. "We can pretend that we're parked up on a lover's lane somewhere back in the day steaming up the windows."

"Danny, I don't know… your grandparents' car?"

"Hey, it's fine… I told you," as he ignored her hesitation and opened the door with a smile. "They'll never know, besides we're just kissing, right?" he urged as he met with little resistance once she conceded and they met again to explored each other's lips and tongues as his hands caressed her and heightened the excitement between them to the point where neither noticed when his watch snagged on one of those distinctive fleur-de-lis buttons and pulled it from its place on the pretty blue cashmere sweater that fit in all the right places while leaving an unmistakable record of their presence behind on the Studebaker's back seat. When they finally pulled apart, it was some twenty minutes later, and they gathered themselves for the short walk towards the ice cream store with guilty mischievous smiles flitting between them… smiles that soon vanished on two faces that went instantly pale, however, when that same car pulled up alongside of them on the street not five minutes afterwards and the passenger-side window rolled down to reveal one very huffy-faced Betty Reagan… a rather strict-minded Irish Catholic grandmother who had not failed instantaneously to add up what a loose button laying on the backseat and the still-fresh smell of a certain pungent aftershave meant when she and Henry opened the garage door and climbed in the car on their mission to return a certain young lady's white jacket.

"Get in," Henry advised gruffly from the driver's seat as he pointed to the back. "Seems like you've been there before, and your grandmother has a few things to say about that to the both of you."

###

"So that's it? Grandma Betty found Mom's button? At least she didn't see it for herself," Jack huffed sadly. "That was way worse. Mrs. Lewis was so mad I won't ever be able to face her again."

"Well that's one way to look at it, but remember… Mrs. Lewis also knows exactly what did and did not happen on her porch while my Betty let her imagination wander, and let me tell you, she was hot as a hornet's nest by the time we got home. Your mom and dad got a real earful about having been raised to be a gentleman and a young lady by good God-fearing parents and that certain activities were meant to be withheld until marriage, plus she gave them what for over what was and was not appropriate behavior when visiting our home. You need to keep that one in mind at least… and I think you owe Mrs. Lewis an apology for that. By the time Betty had cooled down though, she left them with some advice that I think probably helped their relationship start off the right way so that it could turn into what it's been all these years… and it makes things a lot less confusing."

"She did? What was it?"

"Well, I'll tell you if you promise to listen to it instead of one of your so-called friends next time you find yourself in a situation that has you wondering what the right thing to do is."

###

"Pop's been in there a long time with Jack," Linda worried as she glanced over at Danny nervously. "Maybe I should go in and talk to him... I overreacted after church. I should have listened to him first before flying off the handle."

"I think maybe it's best if you leave this one to your grandfather... sometimes it's easier to talk to somebody outside the loop on things like this," Frank offered even as the patio door opened and a sheepish-looking Jack appeared followed by a solemn-faced Henry as they both took their seats without a word at first.

"So, is everything okay now?" Linda wondered as she glanced down the line at her son who had resumed eating his meal which had been left untouched over Sean's vehement objections.

"Jack, if you'd like I can take that into the kitchen and warm it up for you," Eddie offered.

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," he assured. "I called Charlotte and asked if I could come over and apologize to her and her parents tonight if that's okay."

"You are? I mean… really?" Linda asked as she looked back and forth between her son and his grandfather, trying to judge the level of maternal intervention that was going to be required. What she saw instead of a frightened and angry boy was a calm and more confident young man who had the air of having grown up just a bit in that short time he had been away from the table.

"Yes. Grandpa and I talked, and he helped me figure things out," Jack revealed. "He told me what Grandma Betty said to you and Dad in the house that day."

"Well, your great-grandma said a whole lot of things when we got back here," Danny admitted with a pained grimace at his grandfather and a nervous glance at Linda considering Sean's presence and the fact that whatever was revealed to Jack would likely have a ripple effect on his brother who tended not ever to let anything go… and he wondered just how far down memory lane Henry had taken his son. "Some of them probably shouldn't be repeated in front of everyone."

"Some of them weren't..." Henry gruffed. "Because they didn't need to be. Try to remember that too."

"So what were these magical words?" Eddie wondered. "I mean I'd like to tuck them away for the future," she added with a nod towards Kaylin.

"My granddaughter is not dating until she's thirty," Frank insisted with a smile towards Nicki. "Same goes for you, but if I had to guess, I bet Mom said to always do what you feel in your heart is right and keep your head on straight no matter what anyone else says… if you do that it makes your decisions easier."

"To be true to yourself, and don't try to be someone else or fit the mold of who you think that person might like," Jamie continued. "Joe always used that on me and he said he got it from her," he explained. "I really needed to hear that about my decision to be a cop and not a lawyer, but I got lucky here," he added with a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"That sometimes we are so desperate to be with someone we try to change who we are… and how it never works, she said," Erin added as she remembered that conversation. "She was right about that too, and I really wish I would have listened to her when I started dating and she told me those things."

"Because you don't want someone to date you or fall in love with you who doesn't know the real you," Danny finished as he reached over and gave Linda's hand a squeeze. "Guess we weren't the only ones that needed to hear that and those other things. I grew up a lot that day too, son," he added as he looked over at Jack. "I realized that your mother was special and deserved to be treated with respect, and that I owed that to my family, too… the same today as it was back then. I'm proud of you for stepping up and doing what you need to make it right."

"Words to live by," Henry added as he raised his glass. "To my Betty, may she always be with us."

"To Mom… to Grandma Betty…" came the chorus from around the table as everyone agreed.

* * *

 _So that got a bit more involved than originally intended, but there it is... Linda's first dinner and the hanky-panky in the Studebaker that ensued and left them all with good advice to remember from Grandma Betty. Consensus from the reviews and PMs seems to indicate an almost dead even split (which surprised me a little). Since that's the case I'll probably go with the shorter, silly one-shot covering the hair, or lack thereof, that our friend Will E. displayed on air last night since not ONE peep was made about it... that's what I'll work on next as Kaylin attempts to solve a problem of her own with a little creative scissor work while I outline the longer Henry/Betty piece tentatively titled "Where the Heart Lies"._


	29. Edit Scissorhands (Part I)

Chapter 29

Edit Scissorhands… (Part I)

 _Wow, so my Jamko vibes are humming along a little now with these latest epis… the soulmate kiss, "good talk," butt slap, lol... therefore as promised to a particular fellow author (cough, cough, lawslave), a two-shot addressing Jamie's intermittent buzz cut that's been on display throughout the beginning of Season 7, at least in the realm of werks-world since the BB writers let us down a bit again on this point with no good explanation, so I am tackling it first like a certain creative little three-year-old with a pair of safety scissors might. I'm just sayin' :)_

* * *

"Hey, Sarge, we've got one under for robbery and assault in the first degree, meet Daniel Biggs," Officer Will Clarkson announced as he and his partner Daniel Ehret dragged the resisting prisoner up to the front desk where Jamie was coming into the last hour of an impromptu midnight shift covering for the 3-5's regular overnight desk sergeant who had gone home ill.

"It's a lie," the scruffy-faced man insisted as he continued to twist around while the patrol officers started laying the confiscated contraband and evidence out.

"Oh, yeah. Just for the record, he's innocent," Ehret quipped.

"I'm sure, hm-mm, ahhhmm sorry," Jamie replied as he entered the information in the log while unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn, having been unprepared for the overnight shift, but Sergeant J. Reagan had been the next name up on deck to provide cover on his day off so it was with a reluctant groan he had crawled out of bed after the phone rang summoning him to duty and kissed Eddie goodbye with a promise of picking breakfast up from one of her favorite food trucks when he returned in the morning.

"Man, I was gonna bring it all back. This is all a big mistake!"

"Here's the witness I.D., the video surveillance…" Clarkson drawled on.

"The evidence we found in his possession," Ehret followed as he added the items to the growing pile.

"Okay, start the paperwork," Jamie advised with a glance at the clock showing there was little over an hour left before he could wrap things up here and go home for an extended nap. "Let's get Mr. Biggs down to holding. Enjoy your stay with us, the next bus to Central Booking is in three hours," he added.

"Sergeant Reagan, you have a call on line two," one of the civilian secretaries advised. "It's Commissioner Reagan," she added and watched him frown and quickly pick up.

"Dad? What's going on?!" Jamie questioned, worried over a family query such as this at an early hour considering he wasn't even supposed to be there. With a newly pregnant wife, even one he had left comfortably tucked in their bed with the window of the room cracked to allay her now apparent first trimester nightly hormonal flush, a call like this put his heart in his throat immediately. "Is something wrong?"

"Jamie, no, don't worry nothing's happened… and it's Pop," Henry advised over the line. "I have a favor to ask."

"A favor? Gramps, it's not even seven o'clock in the morning! How did you know where to find me?"

"I was the Commissioner… I still know a few things," his grandfather joked. "How do you think? I called the house."

"You called the house and woke Eddie and Kaylin up this early? Pop what's going on?" Jamie demanded now.

"The Policemen's Fund Annual Fall Benefit Gala is tonight at the Waldorf... you know I chair the board," Henry reminded. "The theme is 'Support through the Generations'... we're highlighting the NYPD taking care of our own. These funds are earmarked for the families of fallen officers. Well, now we want to extend the program to offer some of the college scholarships to grandchildren when one of their parents is on the job too."

"That's great, Gramps, but what does this have to do with…"

"The board members, and by that I mean me, wanted to highlight this by including as many of our own grandchildren in the program for the evening as possible… all our top donors are going to be there to receive their annual honors… they need to be schmoozed and see the potential for where the money might go."

"Right, that's why Danny, Linda, Nicki and Erin are going with you, and you talked her into emceeing the first part," Jamie recalled the discussion around the table at Sunday dinner the previous week where he and Eddie had elected to decline the invitation since she had begun to suffer from nausea in the late afternoons and did not want to risk losing her so-called cookies in a fancy ball gown in front of hundreds of people at the extravagant hotel.

"Well, Nicki was up all night coming down with the flu or something else and now Erin's not feeling well either and she's getting laryngitis," Henry revealed. "She called me and sounds awful. I need you to fill in for her."

"Me?" Jamie sighed as he considered the request. "But it's black tie, right? Ed was worried about… you know, and I don't have time to get my…"

"Already taken care of," Henry assured. "Eddie decided to tough it out for me and she'll drop off your tux at the hour cleaners on her way to the salon to get her hair done. Didn't take much persuading… she thought about it and figures it might be the last chance she gets to go to one of these fancy shindigs for a while before my great-grandbaby comes along."

"She will? Wait, how did…?" Jamie questioned, knowing that his wife had likely caved into his grandfather's request in much the same manner whether she wanted to or not… and if it was the latter… well, there's no doubt he'd hear about _that_ when he got home.

"Of course, everything's taken care of… Erin already had a hair appointment booked at some place called Monroe's for after lunch. She won't be needing it. C'mon son, after all this planning I can't be the one to shoot a hole in the evening's program… This was all my idea and don't think for a second I'm gonna let Danny get up there on that stage to represent the family… you know how he is with public speaking, and remember we never had that conversation. Now for your old Irish Grandpa, just this once trot your patrolman butt with a fancy Harvard lawyer degree up there and put it to good use, will ya? No one will pull out their checkbooks unless this comes off the right way. Now can I count on you? Erin had the introductions all written already… you just have to use her notes. Easy as making pie-cakey," he asserted. "I'll take that as a yes," he continued without giving Jamie a chance to decline or get a word in edgewise as Henry was in event planning mode and taking no prisoners. "Eddie's expecting you at home to watch Kaylin while she's out. Francis will be back from Albany and keep my sweetie-pie for the night later… he thinks he's a wet blanket at these things anyway so begged off. Cocktails at seven, dinner at eight. The town car will pick you up at six, don't be late," were the last words added before there was a resounding click on the other end.

"Pop? Hello?" Jamie sighed at the sound of the empty line. "Alrighty then," he muttered as he hung up. "Guess I've been volunteered," he added as he started to dial Eddie's cell to get the lowdown directly from the source before he was interrupted as Lieutenant Renzulli unexpectedly walked around the corner at an earlier than anticipated hour.

"Reagan," his former TO acknowledged as he was paging through his duty roster checking for the next shift. "What are you doing here already? I was just about to call you in."

"Call me in?" Jamie questioned with a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach that he'd just been involuntarily assigned another shift. "Boss, I just pulled most of a midnight here, and now I've got this thing tonight at the Waldorf for my grandfather… He wants me to do some kind of honoree introductions for his charity… I've gotta get up on the stage and talk in front of people and I haven't slept in I don't remember how long now. I'll make an ass out of myself or nod off at the table; you know how boring those things are… I'll never stay awake through it."

"Sergeant Parker just banged in with food poisoning, guess he and Miller both got bacon, egg and salmonella sandwiches from Woody's on the corner while swapping shifts yesterday. I'm a striped man down again. You're still top on my list since Miller was the backup… this place won't run itself," Renzulli asserted. "Minimum staffing requirements… you knew the regs. Can probably quote them back to me upside down, backwards and in Swahili," he chided. "Sorry to wreck your fancy socialite plans… I'll keep you off the street in here at the desk and try to get Adams in early from second, but no promises," he added as turned heel and walked back out down the hallway towards his office. "Try taking one of those power nap things during your break time. I heard they help."

"Alrighty, then," Jamie repeated with gritted teeth this time. If there was anything worse than getting up in front of a bunch of uptight rich strangers cold with no prep time, it was gonna be doing that on little to no sleep in the thirty-six hours prior and he knew from the tone of his grandfather's voice that there would be no getting out of what had now apparently become his obligation to the family legacy and the next generation.

###

"What do you mean you're not coming home until after three?! Renzulli won't let you off the hook even for this?" Eddie whined as she was busily pawing through the spare room closet trying to figure out where her nice clothes were unpacked and looking for something to wear that night. "You're seriously gonna try do this on two hours sleep? I'll be out until four or so since I'm supposed to be taking Erin's appointment at this Monroe's place in Park Slope… Everybody else is either sick or busy and I can't take Kaylin with me... not somewhere new. I don't know what it's like there. Some of these places are so snooty, they won't be happy if a kid tags along and I'm betting your sister goes to one like that! It's not like Lisette's where they know Kaylin… I already checked online, she's booked solid today!" she added.

"You'll have to, Ed… I tried. Adams can't come in until then, so I'm stuck," Jamie complained. "Just explain to Kaylin she has to be a good girl there and have her smile and work the room. They'll cave. We're out of options and it's not like any of this was my idea either! I'm pulling more than a twelve and it's supposed to be my day off! Besides, you could have said no to Pop!"

"Oh, right… like that was gonna happen," she griped. "He hit me with the hardline guilt right out of the box… 'for all the future grandbabies like yours' he said and then added that his whole reputation was on the line. I didn't stand a chance, and he knew it, but part of me wanted to go anyway," she admitted. "It might be the last time I get to wear my favorite, if I can find it… here it is!" she exclaimed while finally eyeing her prize… a pretty navy blue V-necked formal evening gown with floor-length lace and tulle with appliques that hugged her in all the right places and accentuated her curves perfectly.

"You mean the blue one that's cut low with the…" Jamie trailed off as he felt his own heart skip a beat when he remembered how beautiful she looked in that dress and the ungentlemanly things it made him consider. "You know, the one that shows off your… assets," he added suggestively with a small huff as he pushed himself back in his seat, suddenly wide awake at the thought.

"Yeah, that's it… the one that 'perks' you up… maybe you'll need it, but I swear, I better be able to fit in this tonight and again after the munchie comes or you will pay dearly for putting this little bean in here, Jamison Reagan."

"Damn, Eddie… you know how I feel about you in that dress. If we go, then Dad will keep Kaylin tonight, so maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all," he mused and considered the possibilities for a few rounds of extracurricular activity alone with his wife when that particular article of clothing was unzipped. "Get your hair done and put on your dancing shoes, Edit Katalin… we're going out tonight!"

###

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but children that age are simply not allowed," the receptionist at the high-end salon advised with a whiff of disdain as she looked down over her faux glasses from her spot perched in the tall stool and spotted Kaylin shyly peeking out from behind her mother and clinging to Eddie's hand. "Our clientele pay for a relaxing pampered experience, not to be seated in a daycare."

"Oh, I apologize, I wish I would have known, but my husband was called into work unexpectedly today so I had to bring her," Eddie replied contritely with a little half fib and a small smile while at the same time gritting her teeth, having already surmised as much before they walked in the door given the location and appearance of the establishment, but nonetheless prepared to play several of the Reagan family's cards still in her pocket since it had been impossible to find so much as a babysitter or an alternate opening elsewhere at such short notice so she wasn't going to be shy about dropping names to avoid attending the event with frumpy hair.

"Regular patrons are aware there are no exceptions," the opposing woman insinuated in a haughty patronizing tone.

"Well, one of your long-time customers, my sister-in-law, ADA Erin _Reagan,_ from the Manhattan District Attorney's office, had the original appointment… she called ahead to let you know I would be taking it since she's not feeling well and was forced to ask at the last minute that my husband fill in for her tonight at the Policemen's Fund Gala at the Waldorf… he's a sergeant working a double shift on his day off at the 3-5 precinct in Midtown and she was one of the emcees. It's a cause near and dear to their father, _Commissioner_ Reagan's, heart as the main benefit for funds to support fallen NYPD police officers and their families. I'd hate to disappoint him by telling him you couldn't just bend that rule just a little… this is his granddaughter you know and she's very well-behaved. I promise she'll sit quietly next to me and read her book, won't you, sweetie?" Eddie asked while choosing to flaunt Frank's current title as an advantage over Henry's retired status although was pretty sure she would burn in hell for using that and the plight of the families as an excuse to worm her way in for something as trivial as a hair appointment but for the fact every word she had used was true. "I'll be happy to take a chair in the back so she's not in anyone's way… it's for a very important charity event or I wouldn't ask," she reemphasized.

"No exceptions," the receptionist rebuked without so much as batting one of her exceptionally coiffed eyelashes. "Please let Miss Reagan know she will be charged double for her time with Monroe since she did not adhere to our cancellation policy and he does not appreciate an empty chair. She will not be allowed to rebook until that is paid."

"Double? So you're going to turn me away make her pay anyway, twice the amount, just so she can come back?" Eddie bristled just slightly, having anticipated being denied in what she considered was most likely a Hail Mary, but now thoroughly frustrated with the woman's lack of empathy. "That's extortion!" she muttered under her breath.

"Policy," the woman reminded before summarily dismissing her with a threat. "Good day, Mrs. Reagan. I do not appreciate your tone. Please leave before I am forced to call the authorities. Maria, show them out," she ordered one of the stylists who had gathered her coat and purse and was ready to leave for the day herself.

"My tone? Wait, we were just talking politely... Melba," Eddie squinted to read the woman's scripted name tag. "Seriously? As in the toast?" she pondered. "No wonder you're so dry and tasteless!... Besides, I am one of the authorities!" Eddie now huffed, thoroughly take back by the rude treatment in front of her daughter before picking up Kaylin. "And that's Officer Reagan to you," flipped her badge out of her purse. "Thanks for your support," she added before turning heel and walking out the front door. "Unbelievable. I swear I'm going to call someone at the 7-8 and have them set up a sting on the corner here. We'll see what good ol' Melba thinks about stop and frisk."

"Mommy, why won't they make your hair pretty?" Kaylin asked as she ran her fingers through Eddie's loose long tresses. "That wasn't nice!"

"No sweetie, it wasn't… but sometimes people have trouble being nice when they have their noses stuck up in the air too high all the time. Never mind, baby," she laughed at the little girl's puzzled look as she tried putting her face to the sky and squinting. "We'll go home now and Mommy will see what I can do by myself or maybe Daddy will have to go out alone tonight."

"Excuse me, ma'am!" Eddie heard a voice from behind and turned to find the stylist from the salon hurrying towards them. "I'm so sorry about all that in there. Melba was very rude to you. My name is Maria Willard. I've known Miss Reagan for years now and how important that charity is to your family and ours… my older brother Mark is with the ESU unit out of Brooklyn South," she explained. "God forbid anything ever happen to him, but that fund would be something his wife and daughter would depend on. I can't give you the salon treatment, but I can promise you a nice updo for tonight anyway if you don't mind coming to my father's barber shop down the street on the corner of 9th. It's a small family place, but it's always busy and the vibe is warm and friendly… a lot of cops come in as customers. He won't mind if I steal a chair, and he certainly won't care if your little girl is there. The two of you will be the belles of the ball… trust me. She'll have a great time."

"Oh, Maria, bless you! You're such a lifesaver! Thank you so much!" Eddie replied with a grateful smile as she shifted Kaylin over to her other hip to follow the other woman down the block. "C'mon, baby… I didn't see this one coming, but we're gonna learn what it's like when Daddy gets his hair cut. Won't that be fun?"

* * *

 _Uh oh, just imagine all the things a precocious and impressionable three-year-old can pick up when she's the center of attention at a barber shop for an hour or so, hmm? Add in a tired, agreeable father trying to power nap while tasked with watching her at home as a certain blond goes upstairs to get dressed coupled with a must-attend charity event and we'll set up the potential for a little oopsie with the safety scissors that will require some fast thinking and a pair of clippers to fix as Part II of our little haircut Snapshot wraps this one up tomorrow._

 _Now, for everyone wondering about the next big Series II installment... I am still humming along on writing it, however, it has turned into an epic novel-length piece that's about sixty hefty chapters in and I'm not kidding when I say I can't even guess how many more are left… halfway, maybe? I'm sort of writing it by the seat of my pants with a loose outline and the end is nowhere in sight yet. There are *many* characters with their own storylines interwoven in this one so it will be more like two- or three-for-the-price-of-one piece. Since what is done is pretty solid and I'm so far ahead, the plan at the moment is to release the next two fun prequel snapshots titled "No Good Deed…" and "Grandmommazilla" between now and Thanksgiving Day when I will open with the first posted chapter of "Resurgence" since the Reagan family and a special guest are also celebrating on the same holiday at the start of the action. After that, unlike previous stories with daily updates I'll instead post twice a week on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule to keep myself well ahead of the pace and not stressed (or I'll seriously blank) until I find my way to the end when I'll consider picking up the frequency or it might be this time next year before we finish!_


	30. Edit Scissorhands (Part II)

Chapter 30

Edit Scissorhands… (Part II)

"Mommy, _LOOK!_ Him's head is shiny! Can me have that?" Kaylin asked as she twirled around in front of the full length mirror on the wall and pulled up the curls tight on the side of her head to make them disappear.

"May I, and I don't think Daddy would be too happy with me if I brought you home that way. He's fussier than any guy I know about your hair… has to be just so," Eddie laughed as she lay back suspended in the big hydraulic barber chair that was the centerpiece of "The Chop Shop's" main floor for her shampoo. As Maria had promised, the atmosphere there was more akin to that of a friendly local neighborhood cop bar where frankly she felt more at home than Erin's swanky salon and the two blond Reagan ladies had found themselves treated as royalty from the moment they entered, with the place of honor on what was likened to an experience on a mechanical bull quickly vacated by the current occupant… a Lieutenant Cyrus Mitchell from the local 7-8 as soon as he was informed of Eddie's married pedigree and destination for the evening.

"Have a seat Officer Reagan," he ordered in a deep commanding voice when she balked after being urged by the other patrons to take the spot from a superior, even if he was off duty. "Ladies first… just doing my part, ma'am," he assured after moving down a station and giving Kaylin a high-five.

"It's true, Cy here doesn't need much of a shampoo anymore," Maria's father, Emery Willard, retorted as he instead took out a hot towel and buffed the man's mostly bald head affectionately. "I'm the only one in the city that can still manage to give him a quiff… best cut for older men with thinning hair," he advised. "Soon though, my friend," he kidded as he pulled out his scissors and prepared to finish off the look. "You'll have to go see a magician instead."

"Papa!" Maria chided as she rinsed Eddie's hair and began to towel dry it. "Be nice! Mr. Mitchell has been coming here since I was that age," she said as she nodded towards Kaylin who had stopped in mid-dance to stare with fascination at the shiny silver scissors and comb in the older barber's hands as they flashed in the light and flew over the man's head snipping and shaping with the speed of forty-year's experience.

"Eh, you like, little girl?" Mr. Willard smiled at her rapt attention. "You come here and stand on this box like my Maria used to do and I show you how," he offered as Kaylin eagerly scrambled over and up at the invitation to watch the action so close. "You don't mind, do you now, Cy?"

"Not as long as I walk out of here with at least some of what little I've got left," the lieutenant good-naturedly quipped and continued the small talk with the older man and his little helper as Eddie's hair was prepared for its style.

"As fast as I am with the shears, my daughter is with her fingers," Willard reported with pride as he watched Maria quickly section Eddie's hair and begin her work. "I don't often get to see her do this anymore since she moved to that over-priced poodle dog parlor up the street. What will you give her?"

"It's a salon, Papa," Maria sighed at his apparent disdain for her current workplace. "I'm doing a waterfall braid over a curled messy bun that will look lovely with the highlights you already have in your hair," she explained to Eddie. "Very chic."

"And usually very expensive," her father reminded as he finished and brought out a soft brush so that Kaylin could enthusiastically help sweep any stray clipped hair off the lieutenant's shoulders before he stood up with a smile of thanks at the little girl's efforts. "For what I charge twenty-five, that fraud charges ten-times so he has the privilege of insulting you and his clients as he empties their wallets. Here you go little one," he added as he picked Kaylin up and slid her wooden box over to Eddie's chair with his foot before placing her down once more. "You can help with your momma now too. Maybe my Maria will think why I am still waiting for another grandchild. Easier to find a nice husband here than in the middle of all those overdone old women," he asserted.

"This is the work I like to do, and I'm only twenty-five, Papa!" Maria reminded him as she quickly tamed Eddie's tresses and began the intricate braid. "Not many of your clients come in and ask for an updo. In fact, almost every one of them gets a buzz cut. Hold this right here, sweetie," she added as she placed the little girl's hand on a clip to make her feel like she was helping.

"Buzz?" Kaylin asked while thinking about a recent encounter with some nasty wasps at the soccer field. "Like buggies?" she shuttered. "I no like that!"

"No, baby," Eddie assured from the surprising comfort of the infinitely adjustable chair. "Buzzed means short with clippers… like Uncle Danny's," she explained. "A lot of policemen like to keep their hair that way because we have to keep it looking nice on the job and it's easier than something like this to fit under our hats," she joked as she waved her hand at her own head and watched in the overhead mirror Maria quickly and efficiently build the base and layers to the extravagant style for her evening out with a three-year-old's hands eagerly assisting in every step along the way.

"Oh," Kaylin nodded in understanding. "My Daddy is a policeman, and him wears a hat. Me like helping!"

###

"Daddy! _LOOK!"_ Kaylin exclaimed as she burst through the front door with great excitement only to find her father laying flattened lengthwise on the couch where he had collapsed into a near coma-like state a mere forty-five minutes earlier upon his arrival home as more than twelve hours on shift at the desk coupled with that power nap Renzulli had touted had done little help other than to get him home in one piece. "Mommy's SO PRETTY! And I helped!" the little girl announced milliseconds before launching herself on top of his back and forcing his eyes open like window shades snapped up.

"Gentle, baby… Daddy's tired," Eddie chided as she followed her in with her arms full of the dry cleaning. "Jamie, it's late!" she gasped when one look told her he had done nothing more after arriving home than to find a soft landing spot face down in the living room with one arm hanging off the cushions. "Get up! Honey, you're drooling on the floor! The car is coming in just over an hour and you haven't showered or shaved yet! What are you doing down here? We have to get ready!"

"M'm sleeping, Ed, and for the last time I don't drool," he explained the obvious before sitting up and leaning heavily back while subconsciously rubbing the side of his mouth and lifting his eyes to bring her in focus. "Besides, you had my tux… Wait, you do look good!" he added in surprise as her appearance hit him. "See? I told you not to worry about taking her before."

"We went to the 'arber chop shop," Kaylin announced. "I helped!" she insisted adamantly again that her contribution be thus duly noted.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, I'll explain later," Eddie fluffed in her urgency. "We need to get dressed!" she reiterated.

"So go," Jamie sighed and waved as he sank back down in the seat and lay back with his head over the armrest. "Guys can get ready for something like this in no time. Just put my stuff out on the bed and call me when you're done with your makeup. I won't get near the bathroom until then anyway," he griped. "Give me fifteen more minutes here," he begged.

"Okay, you'll watch Kaylin?"

"Course," came the yawning reply as half of his brain had already gone back to a state of blissful slumber with the rest ready to follow. "She can tell me all about how she helped with your hair," he mumbled.

"Me show you, _p'ease?"_ his daughter begged as she ran to the toy box and pulled out a little bag with her baby doll brushes and hair clips in it before pausing to retrieve one last item from her cherished art supplies… a light blue pair of Fiskars Children's safety scissors.

###

"Okay, Jamie… I'm done up there, so you can go…" Eddie trailed off as she hurried down the steps carrying her shoes and putting her earrings in before pausing as her eyes widened and nearly bugged out of her head while they registered the sight of her husband still reclined and peacefully sleeping while adorned with various little plastic colored clips around the edges of his hair while a notable amount of the same was laying in little snippets on the floor underneath him and a tiny girl was busily brushing away at the now obvious speckled bald spots on his head where they had gone missing from. "OH! MY!... OH NO! OH… GOD! OH, NO, NO, NO! Baby, what have you done?!" she gasped at low volume, unwilling to spook their daughter or clue him into this development and set off the panic alarms yet with just thirty-five minutes to go before the car picked them up for such an important event.

"Me making Daddy's hair nice for his policeman's hat… him say so," Kaylin asserted. "Like Uncle Danny's."

"Oh, but sweetie… we can't do that!" Eddie insisted as she drew closer and felt herself on the verge of hyperventilating once the full extent of the sporadically cropped damage on the top of his head was visible. "You mustn't use scissors on people's hair! Only paper!"

"I know how!" Kaylin insisted, offended that her artistry was being questioned. "The 'arber man show me and say good!"

"Okay, okay… stop, we need to fix this fast… somehow..." Eddie huffed as she fanned her face, that evening pregnancy flush and sick feeling in her stomach hitting fast, early and hot now that her heart was pumping and her mind frantically whirring away knowing how fussy her husband was about his appearance and how equally adamant a certain grandfather was going to be about the show going on. "Sweetie, please go up in your room and close the door," she asked calmly to spare her daughter the forthcoming spectacle even as those light blue eyes looking back at her started to well with the apparent notion the little girl behind them had done something wrong. "Don't worry… it's not your fault… Mommy knows you were trying to do a nice thing, but Daddy is going to be just a little upset about this when he first finds out. I'll talk to him and then he'll come up to see you and give you a hug, okay? I promise. Now scoot," she ordered and waited until the little footsteps had cleared the landing and the door upstairs closed before proceeding to hurry and grab a box out of the back closet before putting it down on the coffee table and sitting on the couch to rouse him.

"Jamie… Jamie, get up… now!" Eddie hissed as she started pulling off the hair clips and a few more unfortunate tuffs along with them.

"Mm-hmm, 'kay," he stirred reluctantly as he peeked at her. "Hey, you look great. My turn upstairs?"

"Yes, um… but there's a small problem that's come up," she interjected with pursed lips and a wrinkled brow. "Now, don't freak."

"What?" he questioned with one slowly opening suspicious eyeball trained on her. "Did you use all the hot water? C'mon Ed, we talked about this. I hate being cold."

"Nooooo, it's not that," she trailed off with a continued pained look. "Please don't freak."

"You already said that!" he reminded while sitting up and swinging his legs over as his senses came to full alertness. Something was definitely up for her to be acting like this. "What, _exactly,_ am I _not_ supposed to freak out about?"

"Now, remember Kaylin was just trying to help," she warned as she stared back at him like a deer in the headlights while her eyes could not help but lift upwards and focus on what was missing as a choppy fringe ringed his forehead. This was bad, oh so very, very bad. "Like she said we were at a barber shop and they were really nice to us there and showed her how they did it… so she thought she could..." Eddie squeaked out. "She thought she could help you look good with these too," she offered with a grimace as she picked up the safety scissors from the end table and showed them to him and waited for the realization to hit while she counted down in her mind… three… two… one...

"WHAT?!" he gasped as his hand flew to the top of his head with the immediate recall of his daughter's soft little touches as she was chattering away while ninety-five percent of his consciousness was turned off. "EDDIE!" he cried as he leaped up and went to see for himself in the foyer mirror. "OH, HOLY, AND YES I'M DAMN WELL FREAKIN' OUT HELL! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"I know! I'm so sorry!…"

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" he demanded as he turned around with eyes in full panic mode. "There's no way to fix THIS!"

"There's one," she admitted while pointing to the retrieved box and watching the defeat spread on his face as he sank back against the doorjamb.

###

"Gotta admit the kid looks damn good up there in his dress blues and sergeant's stripes," Danny noted as he sat back and relaxed with an arm around Linda's chair at an elegantly decorated ballroom table in the famed Park Avenue Waldorf Astoria Hotel and watched while his little brother wrapped up his part of the presentation to an attentive audience with a heartfelt personal plea for their support for the new scholarship fund. "Better him than me, I hate wearing mine although these penguin suits aren't any better," he added as he ritched up against the stiff collar of his tux. "Gramps really pulled out all the stops by having him wear the uniform to show he puts that above a fancy black-tie Harvard Law degree," he added as he took another sip of his second or third mixed drink. "Should've probably taken his hat off inside though, right? But what do I know about etiquette? Guess I don't rate," he added with a slightly inebriated peck on his wife's cheek. "Thank God I'm just a grunt and not the next Reagan in line for a big boy's office. I couldn't take the pressure."

"Eddie, I'm surprised you came," Linda diverted as she turned her attention to the company they had at the table knowing that her husband's public speaking style had been more of a deterrent than anything else. "Your dress and hair are simply gorgeous, but you look a little pale… still feeling sick?" she asked while trying to be polite even though her sister-in-law's now pregnant state was secretly gnawing at her.

"A bit," Eddie admitted as she crunched down like a frantic beaver on yet another saltine cracker that had been spirited here inside her purse and sipped some more ginger ale to settle her anxious stomach. "I guess it's between that and being nervous for Jamie up there… we weren't expecting to come and he pulled a double shift before this so hasn't slept much," she revealed part of the cause for her angst, although she held no doubt it wasn't being tired that was causing that red tinge of embarrassment in her husband's cheeks at the moment. "I'm not sure how long we can stay tonight; we might have to leave soon," she added and set up the escape phase of Jamie's hastily conceived plan to arrive late, complete his obligation "under cover" of his formal uniform and most importantly hat, feign fatigue with a wife suffering from baby-to-be chemistry shifts before dinner where he would be expected to sit at the table and remove said headwear and hightail it out of there before anyone, and by that he specifically meant Danny, could take a gander at Eddie's rough attempt to emulate Mr. Willard's version of a "quiff" before he had an appointment the next day with the master himself to make due with what little Kaylin had left intact. The only saving grace in all of this, and the driving force behind his resolve to make it through the night, was that his wife was wearing that dress which promised those much-needed extracurricular activities and the fact that Kaylin was indeed off with her highly amused but sworn-to-secrecy Grandpa after many hugs and reassurances that Jamie was not truly upset with her after the shock had worn off and he had calmed down a bit.

"Oh, that would be a shame to miss the dinner and dancing part after taking all that time to get ready," Linda added. "I'm sure you had to sit in the chair for hours listening to all those uppity Park Slope women complain about this and that while they were under the dryers. It's like they're in a little coven when they get together."

"No… I ended up not being able to keep that appointment because I had Kaylin with me. I went to see an… um, friend, and she did my hair. She was pretty fast. Her brother Mark works ESU out of Brooklyn South," Eddie explained with some truthful details since no doubt Erin would bring up the price-gouging scheme at the salon, but she had not been prepared to fork over that kind of cash to cover it after Melba made it clear she was not welcome.

"Willard? Mark Willard? His dad has a barber shop over there on 9th," Danny observed as he watched his brother suspiciously now while he worked his way back across the room shaking hands and moving through the crowd with Henry anxiously leading and making introductions. "He's still wearing his hat," he muttered under his breath before finishing his thought out loud. "Anyway the old man is a legend up there around the 7-8… they call him Scissorhands, you know… like the movie 'cause he can cut so fast. Guys go there on their meal breaks all the time… in and out. Place is a goldmine. Got some crazy kind of chair that swings around too. Maybe I'll stop in there for a cleanup next time I go up to visit Erin," he added with a brush of his hand over his hair.

"Right, because you have so much left up there to take care of," Linda chided while shaking her head. "I think I do okay with the clippers… saves us another bill every few weeks, what with the boys growing out of that look," she reminded. "Especially since you guys bought us the new ones… they're a lot nicer and don't leave any marks. Danny wouldn't let me use the others anyway after you borrowed them for Bear," she confided to Eddie. "Did you ever get all that pink glitter glue out of his fur? Poor thing, Kaylin was just trying to make him look pretty."

"Oh, Bear," Eddie swallowed nervously as she recalled exactly why they were in possession of those clippers after another of the little girl's beauty-slash-art projects went awry a few weeks earlier resulting in the original hair-impaired member of the family. "Yeah, that stuff got all over the place. He's doing fine… and um, starting to look more like himself now that it's growing back."

"Three-year-olds and art stuff," Danny agreed. "If it's not the melted crayons in the dryer or the glue and the damn glitter, it's the scissors. Glad we're out of that stage," he added without thinking about his wife's suppressed desire before Linda suddenly excused herself from the table and headed towards the ladies room for a cry. "Ah, damn," he muttered under his breath and cursed himself for unwittingly starting something over between them again after the tension that had been brewing for the past few weeks since the unexpected baby announcement. Thankfully Eddie had not seemed to notice as her eyes were still fixed on her husband as he drew closer and she prayed they could pull this off… really the way she was feeling at the moment it wasn't even a lie to say she needed to go home and lay down.

"Harvard!" Danny called out and stood up to greet his brother. "Helluva good speech up there! You've got Gramps prancing around and raking in the dough," he added with a firm clap on Jamie's shoulder when he reluctantly came near… a motion that saw his older brother draw away with something sparkly on his hand that set his still razor-sharp detective brain on overdrive until it locked on with laser sights… the hat, the uniform… was that… just the tiniest bit... of pink glitter?

###

"Really, lambchop… hardly anyone even noticed," Eddie tried to assure her husband after they returned home and were wearily climbing the steps towards the bedroom. "I think I did a pretty good job with the clippers and scissoring off the worst part on top in less than ten minutes, if I do say so myself," she insisted.

"Yeah sure, no one noticed. Danny almost peed his pants right there at the table after he flicked my hat off and I thought someone was going to have to call EMS for him when he hit the floor. _Everyone_ noticed, Edit Katalin!" he asserted after turning around and shaking his head. "Especially Pop. I was afraid he was going to stroke out himself… Linda was crying for whatever reason and had to sit him down and take his pulse. You were back and forth to the bathroom throwing up. Great impressions his grandkids made in a swanky place like that."

"That's because Danny thought Kaylin had glued you up just like Bear and that's what you were trying to hide. There must have been some glitter in the clipper box and I got it on you when I brushed off your shoulders off after you put the coat on. If it hadn't been for that we would have made it out of there free and clear, but when everyone heard about the scissors it wasn't as bad. They understood it's a kid, and she didn't mean anything… it happens," she shrugged. "No one else really knew you there anyway and we'll get it all fixed up tomorrow, I promise. Didn't you hear? The military look is totally in right now and Mr. Willard is a legend… even your brother knows his reputation. Wait until you get to try that chair."

"Oh, sure… it happens. Like Danny should talk with that damn widow's peak he tries to pull off, and I bet that's what you would say if she took a nice hunk of your precious golden mop off and it took like three years for it to grow back. Can't wait to see what'll be sitting on my desk when I get back to the 3-5 on Monday," he griped and fell back crosswise on the bed after throwing his coat on the chair and kicking off his spit-shined shoes. "Probably a few cans of that spray on bald spot stuff. Oh, God… and that'll just be from Renzulli," he trailed off and closed his eyes.

"Well, lucky for us yours won't take that long… a few months, tops," she assured from the bathroom while taking a few minutes to freshen up and prepare for the anticipated activities. "Now, Sergeant Reagan, how about I help you forget about all that in the meantime," she added in her most sultry voice while coming out to lean in the doorway. "You're one sexy man, even with a little less for me to run my fingers through, and I've got a zipper here that's stuck," she cooed before being met with silence other than soft, even breathing.

"Jamie?..."

* * *

 _Okay, okay… I know this Snapshot really should have been called "Kaylin Scissorhands," but that didn't sound right besides it was Eddie that saved the day for the most part at the end with some fancy snipping and clipping work done at speed so forgive the creative license, and please let's assume that she will wake him up for those extracurricular activities. Poor guy deserves a break. :)_

 _Starting on Monday next week, the prequels to "Resurgence" kick off here with Part I of another fun two-shot entitled "No Good Deed…" as poor Sergeant Reagan finds himself with an eventful shift in the days before Thanksgiving battling rampaging loose turkeys on the street with Annabel, coupled with an unhappy and judgemental nun and an impending just-announced holiday visit from mommazilla… all while newfound best buds Eddie and Danny make him squirm in utter discomfort in memorable fashion as they tackle a minor plumbing project at home without him. That will be followed on Wednesday with a one-shot of "Grandmommazilla" as Eva arrives to hear the news of her latest unoka bean before dropping a few bombshells of her own and perhaps even enjoying a night out on the town with a familiar 'stache in the process, and after a closer look, we'll do a **Bonus Day** right off the start with the first installment of the main story also posting later that afternoon as well since the Reagan family Thanksgiving dinner scene is really covered in the second chapter of "Resurgence" so seems a shame to miss the timing for Thursday. Busy days in werks-world! Hope everyone enjoys their holiday week!_


	31. No Good Deed (Part I)

Chapter 31

No Good Deed… (Part I)

 _This two-shot is especially for lawslave once more who requested a snapshot right after "Name" ended with another awkward moment between the newfound best buds Eddie and Danny that was sure to make Jamie squirm in utter discomfort as this unholy relationship between his wife and brother is taken to the next level… plumbing repair. Top that off with a forgotten lunch box, an impending visit from mommazilla, an unhappy nun and a few angry turkeys just days before Thanksgiving and the poor boy will have one eventful shift he might want to forget._

* * *

"3-5 Sergeant on the air," came the call from a Central dispatcher just as Jamie and his eager new rookie Annabel "Annie" Anderson were about to radio in a 10-63 and exit their RPM for an abbreviated and very late lunch break during an unusually busy Tuesday. The weather was still pleasantly warm for the end of November although the added vehicle and pedestrian traffic plus the ensuing conflicts that it caused could well be attributed to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday in just two days time.

"Figures, this is just going to be one of those shifts," Jamie hissed under his breath as he reached for his shoulder radio while his stomach rumbled. Normally he had a few spare packages of crackers stashed in his pockets or car for emergencies like this, but Kaylin had commandeered them as well as his bottle of iced tea on her way into the daycare before shift when the pair realized her lunch box had been left behind on the counter in the kitchen, and a quick search of Eddie's new crossover he had driven in while the Mustang was in the shop turned up nada in the spare snack department which was ironic. The little girl's church preschool class was on holiday hiatus for the week, so she had returned to her familiar daycare near the precinct and the two patrol officers had been on calls nonstop since rolling out right after the morning briefing. "3-5 Sergeant, go," he answered back, just grateful at this point that Lieutenant Renzulli, aka "Uncle Tony," had volunteered to run half his sandwich down the street to the child before that had become a crisis situation all on its own. Eddie had just come off a midnight shift at the 12th and was sleeping after Wilson drove her home before frantic preparations would need to be made for her mother's just-announced impending visit the next day… a mother who had not yet been informed of an unexpected bun in her nervous daughter's oven just yet. On top of that, since becoming pregnant, Eddie seemed to buck the normal trend of morning sickness, instead finding herself growing prone to increasingly strong bouts of nausea in the late afternoon which had been making regular dinners out of bounds, and more often than not Jamie and Kaylin now found themselves eating supper late alone together as a table of two.

In short, Jamison Reagan's regular routine was completely out of sorts to start with and this call did not look like it would improve that situation.

"3-5 Sergeant, 10-53, multiple MVA, auto versus truck with 10-64A special circumstances, Wilshire cross street 12th."

"10-4 Central," Jamie advised as Annabel hit the lights and siren. "Put 3-5 Charles on our back, ETA two minutes. 3-5 Sergeant out."

When the pair arrived on scene, it was indeed evident that this would not be a routine call at all. Jamie's mouth dropped open as he took in the chaotic sight before him in the middle of a city block. A total of three vehicles were involved, including a white flatbed truck that was lying on its side, a number of large wire cages on the back with open doors and battered panels. The truck had been sideswiped by a dark two-door sedan that was now wedged between the larger vehicle and a spouting fire hydrant while a third silver compact with a logo from the Archdiocese of New York had struck the rear tailgate and crumpled up its hood. What first caught the attention of the two officers though was not the number or condition of the vehicles involved, but rather an agitated flock of a half dozen super-sized large fowl that were strutting, gobbling and assuming threatening postures at any civilian good samaritan that tried to get near the carnage which thankfully did not look to have caused serious injuries although none of the drivers seemed eager to get out of their cars just yet either.

"Annabel, please tell me I'm seeing things. What does that look like to you?" Jamie asked in disbelief as he sought confirmation before raising his hand to his radio to call for much-needed additional backup units and animal control. "And… why exactly are they red, white and blue?!" he pondered as he tried to make sense of that anomaly… the largest obvious male in particular was resplendent in white and black feathers while displaying by showing intense blues around the eyes offset by the red snood hanging over the beak, the caruncles hanging from the throat, and the 'beard' of small, black, stiff feathers on the chest.

"Well, they're either filming a trailer for the new 'Angry Birds' movie or I'm seeing enough free-range tom turkey there for about a hundred and twenty-five at dinner, sir," she answered in her typical no nonsense manner. "Domesticated males," she observed. "That's what they look like when they're feeling… well, territorial and sexy," she added with a smile and a wink as she enthusiastically adjusted her hat and prepared herself for battle. NYPD Rookie Officer Annabel Anderson always jumped into any situation feet first and reveled in the diversity of each and every call they received in the big city.

"And you know this exactly, how?"

"Animal Planet, sir. 'Secrets of the Turkey,' it's their annual Thanksgiving week special."

"So what else did you learn, Bindi Irwin?"

"A high-pitched trill like that indicates the birds are becoming aggressive which can develop into intense sparring where opponents leap at each other with the large, sharp talons and try to peck or grasp the head off the other," she replied as she regurgitated the information from memory. "Aggression increases in frequency and severity as the birds mature," she added before looking back over and raising her eyebrows. "These guys look pretty big."

"'Leap with talons to peck or grasp the head off the other'… _Outstanding,"_ Jamie griped as he cautiously got out of the RMP and the obvious flock master's beady-eyed attention immediately zeroed in on him just as a New York One News satellite truck pulled up to guarantee an audience. "And we have company…" he reminded his three officers as Patterson and Rossi from 3-5 Charles arrived and stepped up for direction from their sergeant. "I'm not having Kaylin and a couple of hundred thousand other little kids watch while we take down a bunch of turkeys O.K. Corral-style on live television before the holiday so keep your weapons holstered and let's refrain from running around like… well, like chickens with our heads cut off or this will turn into a social media nightmare for the NYPD. We're not getting out of here anytime soon unless we outsmart them… not the way they're looking at us, and it sure doesn't seem like these boys are gonna be willing to go down without a fight. I'm thinking there's at least four hours of cleanup and paperwork staring back over here."

###

Unaware of her husband's current feathered predicament, a still sleep-deprived Eddie woke up in the mid-afternoon after having forced herself into bed once arriving home for a minimum of four hours of restless shuteye. The unexpected arrival of the little bean had really thrown her body for a hormonal loop the past few weeks as baby Reagan announced its unmistakable presence and asserted early control over their lives, and she constantly vacillated between swinging emotions, pure exhaustion and a complete aversion to all food at dinner time, particularly if it was previously considered yummy... like meat. Figures Jamie's little freeloader would have her resorting to life on a bunny assortment of salad greens and fresh vegetables already, she sighed. All the doctor had told her so far was that despite her body's strong reaction, everything appeared to be on track for a very healthy singleton pregnancy, confirmed by an ultrasound already which was frankly all that mattered to anyone, and that should be further verified at her next appointment with a follow up detailed study in about three weeks.

As if to prove a further point, she instantly burst into tears at the sight of Kaylin's lunchbox sitting forgotten on the counter before a glance at her phone showed a message from her husband letting her know that the little girl's needs were taken care of and not to worry about it.

And Jamie wondered why she kept putting off having the little talk with her mother. At first it had been all too new… too selfishly exciting to think about without the need to wreck that euphoria with a few crass words from her mother… even the supposed new and improved Eva 2.0 version after their fallout and subsequent reconciliation at the wedding, but now that it was really real and the bean appeared already to have the upper hand, she had so many fears and doubts about whether she was ready, not to mention the adjustment in the expectations for her own career as there would be no opportunity now to earn that gold badge first… it was too easy to justify putting off that conversation with Momma Janko in her mind until this point at which Jamie had threatened to drive up to Rochester himself next weekend and do the deed alone if necessary.

"Edit Katalin Reagan," he had finally huffed in frustration after making his stand the other night while they were getting ready for bed. "You can't just not tell her and have her be the only one. That's not fair, Ed. She needs to know before this child is ready to enroll in preschool and we shouldn't wait much longer to explain this to Kaylin! She's already asking questions!"

Indeed. Even before last night when she had been informed of her mother's plans for a surprise trip to the city for the holiday and her expected arrival early tomorrow morning, Eddie acknowledged that it was finally time Eva was told about her newest unoka although she was able to get Jamie to agree to hold off on any sort of serious discussion with Kaylin until they were at least through the first trimester in case the unthinkable might happen and she would suffer a miscarriage… the odds on that were greatly reduced after the twelfth week.

So it was with that nervous anticipation that Eddie resolved herself to spend the rest of the afternoon straightening up and doing some light housework in preparation for the incoming uncomfortable visit from Rochester. How would he mother react to the news and the truth that Eddie had chosen to keep it from her until now while the rest of the Reagan family had been informed… well in actuality, had guessed so early on… yes, she would lead with that if pressed and throw him under the bus if necessary. It was Jamie's fault with that terrible poker face he possessed, otherwise they would have kept the lid on this for everyone. Satisfied with that plan, Eddie made her way over to the sink in the kitchen and reached down to open the cabinet to pull out the bucket and cleaning supplies stored underneath it and was immediately greeted with a gush of water to her feet.

"Oh no!" she wailed as it soaked her socks and the throw rug. Close observation revealed a tiny spraying pinhole in the copper pipe leading up to the old faucet. At that rate it must have been leaking for hours… filling up the plastic storage trays underneath before finally overflowing and leaving a now increasingly big mess in her kitchen on the eve of Eva's arrival of all times. "Crap!" Eddie sighed as what she was versed in about plumbing couldn't fill… well anything as Jamie never failed to remind her. She knew absolutely nothing about pipes or faucets or what to do with them when something went wrong except for one critical fact… her daily afternoon sickness and her mother's impending visit made a functioning water system in the home an absolute necessity. She whipped out her phone and dialed Jamie's cell in a panic, cursing when it went directly to voicemail even though she knew he was on duty. Undeterred, she sent a 119 text to him… Reagan family code for drop everything and call immediately… while she ran for some towels and the mop to sop up the growing mess.

Jamie had just about solved his own flooding crisis on the street before that message came in as the fire department had finally been allowed close enough to the scene to get the damaged hydrant turned off as in a genius move he had directed his officers and willing bystanders to form walking corral panels with yellow emergency tarps stretched out between them and had slowly and methodically rounded up and cornered the whole flock of unsettled big birds together in a stairwell up against one of the buildings and he watched in relief as animal control was moving to transfer them back into their individual pens with blessed minimal fanfare, especially in this day and age of cell phone cameras and videos. Apparently the group consisted of the grand prize winners at several prestigious upstate county fairs and had been sent down to the city via flatbed truck to represent the state's agricultural commission on a float in the Thanksgiving Day parade. It was a great relief to see that it looked like all would be able to fulfill their appointed mission now and he was off the hook for that major multiple instate agency farmer vs. Peta vs. NYPD brouhaha if things had gone bad here on live television. That was about the last thing he wanted to see added to his pile of personal exposés from the _Post_ since his name always drew increased attention and scrutiny _._ A quick check on the drivers had found all to be suffering from only minor injuries, and now that the water had been turned off and the feathered threat removed, they were receiving medical attention and offering insurance information and explanations to his officers as the dreaded necessary paperwork began in triplicate while tow trucks moved in to pick up the physical mess and open the busy street back up.

Truly though, what Jamison Reagan did not need at that very moment was another crisis to attend to, but with Eddie pregnant there was added reason of course to worry now so he answered that 119 immediately with his heart in his throat expecting the worse.

"Eddie!" he demanded as she picked up on the other end. "Honey, are you alright? Is it the baby?! What's the matter?!"

"The water pipe broke!" she sobbed back almost indistinguishably as he stood on the busy, noisy street.

"WHAT?! YOUR WATER BROKE?!" he gasped in a panic, not even pausing to wonder how that was even possible at this point as she was only about nine weeks along. "Call a bus! I'll meet you…"

"No, not _that_ water _,_ Harvard!" she clarified as she snapped over from dismay to annoyance in the blink of an eye. "The water pipe under the sink! It's leaking all over the kitchen floor! I don't know what to do plus my MOTHER is coming tomorrow and you have my car!"

"Oh, Jeez… suzzz," he drawled out painfully in relief while trying to cover himself while the driver from the small compact car approached him… a tiny little gray-haired nun... and he remembered his parochial school commandment of not taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain. "Listen, Ed, I'm at an accident scene," he explained as suddenly there was a major kerfuffle to the side as the country-boy driver of the truck and the thousand dollar suit from the crumpled Mercedes got into it loudly on the sidewalk like... well, like they were ready to leap in with talons to peck or grasp the head off the other. "Looks like I'm gonna be home late until we get this cleared. Just go downstairs and turn the water off at the main shutoff valve and I'll see what I can do then."

"What about Kaylin?" she reminded, still fully situated in the over reactive range of her emotional palette. "I can't get her without a car and Mrs. Spira at the daycare reminded us that they are closing early all week because they are short staffed with the holiday! And how are you going to fix the sink in time for tomorrow?!"

"Pardon me, I'll be with you in just one second, Sister… um, Agnes," Jamie offered to the impatient-looking nun as he read her nameplate while holding the phone away from his ear; no need at the moment to listen closely as Eddie's added volume was coming through clear as a bell. "Ed, honey, I need to go back to work now. I'll call Danny and ask him to get Kaylin after work and drop her off, okay? I'll give him the code for the car to get the seat out and he was headed to Dad's to watch the game tonight, anyway. He'll take a look at the pipe while he's there so I know what I need to pick up to fix it. This is _not_ a crisis, lambchop."

"It is when you're standing here in wet socks, Jamison Reagan!" she spat back before he silenced her abruptly by clicking the end button so he could address his full attention to the matter at hand. He only wished he could do the same for his stomach which was now rumbling loudly; still on empty for the day.

"Excuse me, Sergeant Reagan, but neither one of those men over there are being truthful in their admissions!" she insisted indignantly as she wagged her finger at them. "I witnessed the entire incident and I wish to make a full report, not just exchange insurance numbers as that other officer asked!" she added vehemently. "They caused me to damage church property! The Bishop is going to want a full accounting! This will not be rolled under the rug or I will speak to your superior!"

"Of course, ma'am," he attempted to mollify her as she also had her dander up, but at the moment his first priority was to get the scene cleared and the street back open before it caused rush hour gridlock in short order. "Sister, your car is going to need to be towed since there is damage to the radiator. Why don't you have a seat in my squad while we arrange for that and I'll take you back to my office at precinct so we can sit down somewhere quiet and I will take your report personally."

"I will not ride in the back like a common criminal, Sergeant Reagan!" she huffed.

"Understood; please sit up front here and I will be back in a few minutes after I have a word with my officers," Jamie offered with his most penitent voice as he opened the door for her and made sure she was settled comfortably before pulling out his phone once more as he headed over to alert Annabel to his pending departure and hand the scene over to Patterson. No need to have the Archdiocese added to the fray which would certainly beeline this directly to his father's desk as he had a regular standing monthly lunch invitation with that aforementioned Bishop. The politics of this job were sometimes mind-boggling, he thought ruefully as he waited for his brother to pick up the phone.

"Reagan," came the expected gruff reply with just a smack of amusement behind the tone.

"Hey, Danny it's me," Jamie offered. "I'm hung up at work and need to take a witness statement. Could you run over to the 3-5 after shift and pick up Kaylin at daycare and take her back to our house in Bay Ridge with you? I have Eddie's car since mine's in the shop and it's got that fancy-schmancy CarPlay remote entry stuff. I'll shoot you the app and the code and you can use it to open the doors to get in for her car seat."

"Sure thing, Hollywood. I'm just leaving now," Danny offered back with a snicker as with one word he made it abundantly clear that he knew exactly what his little brother had been occupied with on his call. The New York One broadcast had been breaking in with live updates from the scene on the big screen in the 5-4 for the last hour much to the hilarity of the whole squad of detectives there. "Smart money was on that white male with the big gazongas eyeing you up. Pop wants to know if he'll even fit on his Eleanor Roosevelt turkey platter," he chuckled. "Kid, you're so effing lucky that didn't go upside down six ways from Sunday. Dad must have been sweating it out up in the big office. Better you than me; I would have just popped them all and invited everyone over for dinner."

"Funny, ha ha. Always assume you're being filmed, right?"

"No, you're the one that always seems to wind up on camera," Danny asserted. "Smart detectives like me know how to avoid getting caught up in things like that. It's an art form."

"That so," Jamie mused as he watched the disagreement continue to escalate between the other two drivers as all three of his officers were now involved in trying to settle the men. "Some day that comment is gonna come back and bite you, big brother. Listen, I gotta go put a stop to some road rage before that turns into a sound bite too. I don't know what's gotten into everyone today. Eddie called a few minutes ago all wound up about a leak under the kitchen sink. Would you mind taking a look while you're there and letting me know what I need to get to fix it? Her mother is coming in tomorrow so she's on the warpath, plus the hormones, man… I gotta tell you she scares me sometimes now and late afternoon is the worst. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Yeah, I remember those days with Linda… no problem I'll see what I can do," Danny agreed as he grabbed his coat. After the summer's collusion with Eddie at the house during the whole Quinlan fiasco and separation from Linda, he was more than happy to put a little extra effort into helping out his new sister-in-law and family confidant. "I'll stop at the house after I get Kaylin and pick up that big plumbing toolbox Dad keeps downstairs. He's probably got everything in there you need to handle this."

"Great, I'll owe you."

"Yes you will, and I like beer."

"Noted, Detective."

More than an hour later, Jamie had finally pacified Sister Agnes with a full report detailing the actions of the other two drivers, and he left her nursing a cup of tea in his office while he filed his paperwork to close out the shift at the 3-5's front desk where he ran into Renzulli who was doing likewise.

"Nice job out there on Wilshire," his Lieutenant chuckled as he clocked out after Jamie thanked him for taking care of Kaylin at lunchtime. "Reminded me a little of Alice and that pig she was walking around on a leash a few years back. We don't get too many livestock calls. You done for the night?"

"Almost," Jamie sighed as he had finally quelled his hunger somewhat with a bag of pretzels from the vending machine. "I promised the Sister I'd drive her home to Staten Island since she said she has some important meetings tonight and doesn't have another ride… I'm not gonna ask her to take the bus."

Renzulli let out a slow whistle. "Forty-five minutes on a good day over the FDR and half hour back to Bay Ridge, Harvard. You're really racking up those choir boy points. You looking to get out of the house already after being married just a couple of months or do ya got something you need to confess?" he kidded.

"Actually Danny's at home with Eddie right now trying to fix a leaky pipe," he admitted. "I thought about having him take her back, but my brother and nuns… let's say it brings back flashbacks of rulers," he grinned. "He avoids them like the plague. I'm better off doing this one on my own. They say no good deed goes unpunished though... but maybe God will have mercy on my soul for the next few days this time," he sighed before adding the required explanation. "Mrs. Janko is coming in tomorrow to stay with us through the weekend and Eddie hasn't told her about the baby yet."

"Oh, 'nuff said," Renzulli retorted with a sympathetic eye towards his old boot as he had seen Eva up close and personal at the wedding and could read the reason behind that angst clearly. "I'm sure you could get takers for those two scheduled days off, you know… if you decide you need an excuse to leave. Call me, I can make it sound like an emergency."

"I might just do that."

* * *

 _The second part of our two-shot wraps up tomorrow with an eventful drive over the FDR for Jamie and Sister Agnes as an excited Kaylin instigates a memorable video call with mommy's phone while Eddie and Danny are so consumed with fixing that pipe together they might not realize exactly how their little conversation will come off sounding to a mortified husband and a judgemental nun who are trapped together listening to it._


	32. No Good Deed (Part II)

Chapter 32

No Good Deed… (Part II)

"Mommy, come _LOOK!"_ Kaylin squealed as she banged on the powder room door before running back to the living room while Eddie was trying to talk herself out of the regularly scheduled afternoon nausea since she had no water pressure to deal with it before Danny returned from his father's house with the plumbing repair box. "Daddy's on the TV chasing big birdies with a blankie!" she revealed with great excitement. "Is he gonna catch 'em and bring me one home?"

"He's _what?!"_ Eddie called out as she opened the door and hurried to see while pressing a cold washcloth with ice up against the back of her neck. Jamie had called briefly just a few minutes ago to inform her of his little side trip to Staten Island while on the way home but this was the first she was hearing about the details of his adventurous afternoon. She missed the segment on the news by the time she joined Kaylin in front of the television and had just successfully located the remote to backtrack when Danny let himself in the front door.

"Oh you've got to be freaking kidding me," she murmured in disbelief as she watched the great turkey roundup take place under his direction with the redheaded Officer Annabel Anderson leading the charge. "That's what was so important he hung up on me?!" she turned to her brother-in-law who had just set his tools down on the counter and wandered over with a sly grin on his face.

"Daddy saved the birdies!" Kaylin clapped excitedly again with delight as she watched, her actions no doubt mirrored by multitudes of other children across the city in what could only be considered as a PR victory for the NYPD during this particular holiday week.

"Yes, he sure did, you cute little pumpkin," Danny acknowledged as he picked his tiny niece up and twirled her around like she was an airplane. "Your daddy is a bona fide superhero; just like Batman… he saved the day again. The streets of Gotham City are safe once more from the threat of rampaging extra crispy drumsticks and wings," he chortled.

"Danny," Eddie warned in her best version of Pig Latin. "O-Nay ore-may alk-tay about-way urkeys-tay and-way eir-thay arts-pay or-way we'll e-bay aving-hay ofu-tay or-fay inner-day on-way ursday-Thay."

"Say _what?!"_

"Keep it up," she explained with a nod to the little girl. "And it will be tofu for dinner on Thursday."

"Oh, right," he acknowledged as he cleared his throat and set Kaylin back down. "Well, I'd better take a look at the leak. Under the sink, right?" he asked as he walked to the kitchen while removing his tie, unbuttoning his dress shirt and preparing to crawl under there with just his favorite wife beater tee on. "Go ahead and turn the water back on so I can see where the problem is," he advised as he waited while she followed his direction. "It's not that bad," he continued when she returned from downstairs. "Just this little section of copper pipe has a pin hole. They make quick connect fittings for this now so you don't have to call a plumber in to solder it. Pretty sure Dad has those in the box," he added as he sat up and rummaged through the kit, already dripping though from the spray which seemed to increase in intensity from earlier, so he removed the undershirt too. "Go turn the water back off and we'll get this done in no time. I'll need an extra pair of hands underneath here though. You sure you're feeling alright? Want me to wait for Harvard? You might get a little dirty," he asked as he eyed her clean white tee and loose running shorts.

"No, I'll help," Eddie sighed after she returned from the basement once more. "I'm okay now, it's past. Besides it will be late until he gets back and I just want this done so I can clean up before my mom gets here tomorrow morning. What do you need me to do?"

"Just lay here next to me and hold this wrench on the fitting while I cut through the pipe," he advised as the two sprawled out aside of one another on the kitchen floor to commence the repair.

Meanwhile, Jamie was trying to make small talk with Sister Agnes as they sat at a dead stop in a traffic jam on the FDR as he fumbled with the unfamiliar controls in Eddie's recently purchased crossover, a sad concession to family life as her souped up little silver Porsche had been traded in for a more car seat-friendly model, something that Jamie was loath to do to his precious Mustang, but with another baby on the way it looked like he would lose that battle soon… still none of these mom-friendly models came in stick shift and he would sadly miss the feeling of that more than anything else.

"So what church do you serve at in Staten Island," he asked the older woman.

"St. Anne's Parish," she confirmed. "I am also the vice principal at the school there."

"Oh, small world," Jamie exclaimed, grateful finally to have something to fill what had been a very awkward void of silence so far. "My brother and his wife are members and their two sons attend the school there… Jack and Sean Reagan."

"You are _Daniel_ Reagan's brother?" she asked as she eyed him up and down with a renewed sense of interest. "Also the son of the current Police Commissioner?"

"His youngest, yes ma'am," Jamie replied back with a smile.

"Well, I never would have guessed," Sister Agnes interjected with a little huff. "We see so little of Daniel at the school functions, but Linda is a very devoted mother and a fine example of a good Catholic woman. The two of them were going through quite a concerning spell there a few months ago though," she added self-righteously. "The boys were very upset in class. I had to call the home several times to inquire what was wrong."

"Oh yes, well… it was a little bump, but they've worked things out," Jamie replied, suddenly very uncomfortable discussing his brother's recent marriage woes in front of anyone, let alone a nun that did not seem to be a member of the DFR personal fan club… still he could not help but try to defend him out of a sense of Reagan honor. "Danny's very dedicated to family. In fact he picked up my little daughter after work today when I was running late and he's helping my pregnant wife with a minor repair at our home right now."

"Interesting," she returned with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "Considering we are having parent-teacher conferences at the school tonight and he indicated he could not attend due to work-related issues. I take it he will be marked absent once more."

Jamie was still trying to formulate a response to that while back in Bay Ridge, events were set to unfold that would have him wishing he was anywhere but stuck in a traffic standstill with a seemingly tech-possessed car and an already irate judgemental nun at his side.

"Mommy! Is Daddy still playing with the birdies?" Kaylin asked hopefully as she circled back into the kitchen. "I see more? P'ease!"

"No, baby… ouch!" Eddie replied in a muffled voice from under the sink after bumping her head on the drainpipe and knocking over a bottle of dish soap that had remained forgotten in the back of the cabinet when she cleared everything else out. Danny was still having issues finding room to get the right angle to cut the damaged pipe amid the other plumbing fixtures down there.

"Can I see Daddy 'gain, p'ease!" the little girl tried again, unrelenting now as the newscast had sadly ended and she wanted more of the action.

"May I," Danny and Eddie corrected in unison before she continued. "Sweetie, he's driving a lady home in Mommy's car right now. Go get my phone and call him; he'll tell you all about it," she advised in an effort to appease her daughter while they focused on getting this damn aggravating section of pipe out.

"Fat chance," Danny muttered before swearing when he pricked his thumb on the hacksaw blade since he could not get the tube cutter to turn in the tight space. "The kid never picks up the phone if he's behind the wheel since he writes tickets for that everyday. Goody two-shoes…"

"Oh, everything in my new car is hands-free," Eddie advised. "He hates all the tech, but I set his phone up to Bluetooth with the system automatically. The GPS even knows if you are moving or not so you can only FaceTime and text when the vehicle's stopped," she explained. "I love it but he hasn't used it very often yet so he might not know what to do. Go ahead, Kaylin, try calling Daddy and surprise him."

Jamie's fingers were drumming a nervous rhythm on the wheel and he checked his watch for the tenth time as he noted the line of cars they were sitting in hadn't budged so much as an inch in the last ten minutes so he put it in park and turned off the engine to conserve fuel, leaving only the secondary power on. He was just about to pull out his phone to call Eddie and let her know he'd be even later than expected when the screen on the center console of the car lit up with an incoming call and a smiling picture of her face in the corner.

"My wife," he offered to Sister Agnes as he studied the unfamiliar options and reached for the big green accept call button, all at once entirely happy that this had occurred after the wedding and he didn't feel the need to explain their living in sin with a three-year-old and a baby on the way to the fractious apparently strict-minded religious woman aside of him.

"Daddy!" Kaylin squealed with delight as she had somehow activated the video button and her face suddenly appeared almost pressed up against the screen as she held the phone close enough to count the freckles on her nose. "I see you!" she said as everything behind her bounced up and down while she jumped with excitement.

"I see you too, sweetness," Jamie smiled as he eyeballed around the dash for the hidden cam. _Damn this car with its fancy-shmancy tech crap,_ he sighed. _Give me an old big block engine, four on the floor and roll down windows anytime._ "Honey, put your mommy on the phone, please," he asked hoping to speak to Eddie to give her an ETA, see where they were at with the sink repair, and judge her current hormonal state of mind with regard to her mother's arrival.

"'Kay! Uncle Danny and Mommy are playing on the floor," Kaylin agreed obediently as she turned the phone around and pointed it towards Eddie, unfortunately bumping the incoming volume button down to its lowest setting at the same time and really only giving Jamie and his passenger a bird's-eye unfettered look of two pairs of legs sidled up next to one another on wet and now soapy kitchen surface as they were forced to listen to the running commentary since he was too shocked at the circumstances at first to consider the opposite little red button meant he could hang up the call, instead they continued to watch the beautiful state-of-the-art high definition console display as the one in suit pants was writhing back and forth a little and the other feminine-looking one wearing comfy short shorts was curled up next to them. "Daddy says to talk!" the little girl ordered.

"Not now, baby, we need to get this done," Eddie replied back, only hearing part of that as Danny was busy trying to saw away at the pipe with his hacksaw blade but not getting any purchase on the smooth material with just fingertip pressure.

"Here, Eddie... I want you... to… ahh… sit up instead and kinda straddle me while you hold onto this and pull hard so I can get a better angle," Danny ordered as he tried to move one of the interfering hoses out of the way of his efforts. "Yeah, push it just like that… don't let go! I need you to hold it just right or it won't work!"

"I'm trying, Danny, but it's tight under here and the soap's not helping… God, Jamie would have a fit right now if he knew… he's such a freak about stuff like this… it would keep him up all night; sorry, my hands are slippery and it's really, really hard!"

"You sure you're okay doing this with the baby coming? He's gonna kill me if he finds out."

"No, it's alright. I'm fine. I know I should go easy but I just really want this to work," she admitted.

"Ah… just screw it!" he cursed as his hand slipped. "I'm losing it again, but c'mon, Ed, hang in there for a few more minutes… we can do it… what he doesn't know won't hurt him right?"

"Let's not wait any longer, Danny. I need this to happen tonight, and by the time he gets here it'll be too late!"

"Damn, those brass nipples up there might have to come off too; they're getting in my way. They seem really oversized now that I'm down here looking at them. Maybe that's part of the problem. Wait! Yeah, that's it… right there… it's coming, I can feel it," he assured as the saw blade finally bit into the surface of the pipe and he rocked back and forth faster in his efforts.

"We're almost through," she called out in agreement as he was finally through and a residual spray of water pressure was released as he moved the section, soaking them both.

"Oh, Danny, I'm all wet!"

"Hold on… me too… wait... OH YESSS!... That's it. We got there. Well we'll have a big mess to clean up here, but it was worth it, wasn't it? You did a great job, Eddie. The kid's lucky to have someone who's not afraid to get their hands dirty. Linda would never do that for me."

" _I know!_ I'm so excited! I can't wait to show Jamie when he gets home! He thinks I'm afraid to do anything like this. It's gonna really surprise him!"

Mercifully at that moment in time on the FDR, traffic started moving again and the console in the car went back to the generic home screen as Jamie pursed his lips and put the car into gear to drive forward in complete silence with his appalled passenger while Kaylin grew tired of the fact that her Daddy wasn't talking back to her anymore as Eddie and Danny continued with the repair of the pipe, and she put the phone down on the counter before going off to play. Not another word was uttered between the pair in the car until it pulled up in front of the St. Anne's School and stopped to let Sister Agnes out so she could attend the scheduled conferences where she would no doubt run into an unsuspecting Linda Reagan at some point. Jamie offered one final parting comment as he considered his brother's earlier faulty assertion that he was smart enough to keep himself out of trouble like this… that was definitely one dare to the universe that had gone bad six ways from Sunday in an incredibly short order.

"Good night, Sister Agnes," he offered humbly. "Again, ahem, my apologies for… well, you know just about everything that happened today. That, ah last part... well that wasn't at all exactly what it sounded like… but I'll um… well, I'll tell Danny you'll be expecting him at early Mass and confession first thing tomorrow morning," he managed to choke out finally, hoping she would show some kind of mercy in her heart before he had to go back and explain this to his brother and Eddie.

"Thank you for the ride, Sergeant Reagan. You seem like a very nice young man and good, concerned parent just as Linda is. I must counsel you though that your brother and wife have a rather unholy relationship… I will say the prayer of lost souls for both of them tonight," she tutted with a frown and shake of the head. "I suggest you do the same."

It was more than an hour later when a completely emotionally spent Jamison Reagan arrived home and let himself into the house, only to find his older brother wearing one of his faded Harvard tees and a pair of sweats with a dozing pajama-clad Kaylin on his lap, his socked feet comfortably up and crossed in an irritating fashion on the coffee table while sitting next to Eddie on _his_ couch, drinking a beer and watching the favored Mets and Phillies play while that wet clothing sat tumbled dry in the laundry. A quick glance at kitchen showed it to be all back in order with what smelled like supper warming for him in the oven.

"Jamie!" Eddie smirked as she sat up and greeted her husband. "Baby, it took you forever to get home tonight! Traffic must have been a nightmare on the bridge," she surmised as she glanced at the items in his hand. "You didn't have to stop and buy anything. C'mere and sit down with us... sweetness is all ready for you to put her in bed and Danny and I already fixed the sink," she added proudly as she patted the cushion next to her. "There's even some frozen turkey noodle casserole warming up in case you're hungry," she snickered as his brother joined in the laughter at his expense, not expecting the tables would be turned so soon.

"What's the bottle for?" Danny asked as he took inventory of the items Jamie had returned home with. "I told you I work for beer, and the big bouquet of flowers for your momma-in-law… that's a nice touch to get back in her good graces when you admit that you've knocked up her daughter already," he added smugly, knowing Eva's impending arrival must be gnawing at the kid's insides. "Jamison Reagan, always the gentleman…"

"Oh, the scotch isn't for you; it's for _me,"_ Jamie admitted as he broke his silence finally. "And the flowers are for Linda. I have a feeling you're gonna need them to get into your house tonight and you're certainly not moving back in _here,"_ he emphasized with a contentious flash of scorn.

"What are you talking about, Harvard?" Danny asked as his eyes narrowed and the smile slowly slipped down off his face.

"Where exactly does Linda think you are tonight, huh?" Jamie prodded as he was about to drop the evangelical hammer on his unsuspecting brother.

"Oh, the kids had something at school… you know how I am with those nuns," Danny admitted wryly. "I told her I had to work late and go talk to dad about a theft ring," he admitted. "Captain America's already stolen two bases for the Met's tonight and we're only in the sixth inning," he laughed as he pointed to the screen with his beer. "I know, I know… I'm a bad man and I'm gonna burn in hell if I don't add that to my tally when I get around to going to confession. Why?"

"Oh, no reason…" Jamie trailed off. "Except maybe the fact that I had Sister Agnes from St. Anne's along for the ride tonight when we were at a standstill on the FDR and got to witness that little hedonistic display between the two of you under the sink in live HD technicolor on that fancy-shmancy screen in your 'tech-friendly' car when you had Kaylin call me on a video chat, Eddie!" he revealed as his voice went up an octave. " _Straddle me!... I'm trying, Danny, but it's tight under here and the soap's not helping… God, Jamie would have a fit right now if he knew… he's such a freak about stuff like this…"_ he mocked in their voices as his eidetic memory provided a word-for-word accounting of the conversation he had absorbed and now needed help to forget. " _It would keep him up all night; my hands are slippery and it's really, really hard!"_

"JAMIE!" Eddie gasped as she thanked heaven Kaylin was still soundly sleeping while she turned bright red with embarrassment as she envisioned her normally mild-mannered husband sitting in her car next to a nun of all people and listening to this as the completely innocent but implied connotations slapped her notion of reality.

" _You sure you're okay doing this with the baby coming? He's gonna kill me if he finds out…_ and for the love of all that's holy, you had to throw in that comment about brass nipples?!" he finished as the two guilty cohorts stared back at him in shock.

"They're common plumbing fixtures, you numbskull!" Danny insisted as a heavy blush crept into his face while he imagined the conversation he was going to have with his own wife shortly.

"Yeah, I got that. So did Sister Agnes," his little brother returned with a huff. "And last I saw her she was headed into the school in search of your Linda, the 'good Reagan wife,' and by the way you'll be happy to know she's praying for you two tonight and expecting you for Mass first thing tomorrow morning, Daniel. Wait until she gets ahold of the Bishop and this lands on the Commissioner's lap during their lunch," he continued to mutter as he set the unopened bottle of scotch down on the table, plucked up his sleeping daughter off Danny's lap with a frown and made his towards the steps in defeat to put her to bed. "Take that too, you'll probably need it for Dad once he hears about this. And I thought I was saving him from the great NYPD turkey catastrophe today…" his voice trailed off as he ascended the steps and continued to talk to himself while mocking in Eddie's voice once more. "Oh, and Jamie… surprise! My mother is coming to stay with us for a visit tomorrow. Thank you, universe… I didn't have enough angry territorial creatures with sharp talons ready to peck or grasp my head off today… looking forward to it…"

"Jamie, wait!" Eddie called out as she tried one last appeasement before he disappeared. "What about supper?"

"I'm not hungry anymore!"

* * *

 _Well, that was silly and fun and this could have really been a triple-shot to include the arrival of Eva Janko as she wings her way back down from Rochester once more on a surprise visit with news of her own that might just keep all the Reagans up at night, but I had a great name for that one so decided to keep it separate. Have no fear though "Grandmommazilla" is coming up tomorrow with a special **BONUS DAY** posting of the first chapter of "Resurgence" later in the afternoon!_


	33. Grandmommazilla

Chapter 33

Grandmommazilla

 _Eva Janko arrives on short notice the day before Thanksgiving and has a surprise of her own to offer while Eddie must break the news about the newest little unoka bean and Jamie is set for another shocker._

* * *

"So, Mom… I hope it was all right to stop here at the diner for breakfast this morning. Kaylin woke up late, and she didn't get a chance to eat before I had to take Jamie into work; his car had a recall, so it's in the shop until Friday, and then we came right to the airport to pick you up. What brought you down to the city this week on such short notice?" Eddie inquired before the waitress at Miller's Diner returned to take their order, decidedly leaving out the details about the already contentious mood her husband was in after his trying turkey roundup and the great Sister Agnes plumbing fiasco the day before. "Please tell the nice lady what you would like for your hungry tummy this morning," she directed Kaylin who was carefully studying the pictures on the kiddie cuisine page.

"Pancakes! Like Pop Pop makes for me," the little girl finally decided. "And some milk, p'ease!"

"Do I need a written invitation to come visit my daughter and her family on a holiday?" Eva responded with words that might have been taken as a challenge at one point in time in the not-too-distant past as she stirred her coffee once the orders were taken, but there was a coyness and certain mysterious lilt about the inflection of her mother's tone that left an already nervous and guilt-ridden Eddie a little more unsettled than defensive.

"No, of course not," she answered quickly while opening up the little package of crayons so Kaylin could color on the placemat while they waited for their orders. "In fact, Jamie and I were talking about driving up to Rochester next weekend to come see you before we got your call. It's just that your real estate office usually keeps you so busy and it's hard for you to get away very often. Our guest room is always open though now that we have one," she smiled warmly as she considered the fact that their house had four bedrooms, which after the baby's arrival would of course just leave a single spare for company. Eddie couldn't be sure, but she thought her mother's gaze had sharpened a little with that revelation and she had almost undoubtedly picked up on that clue. Eva Janko was normally very quick-minded and tended to filter out information like that as well as any first grade detective with a perp in the box. "I feel bad we weren't able to move our work times around on such short notice though, so he's on first shift today and I have to work third again tonight. We both have the rest of the day off tomorrow and all of Friday though, and you're of course invited to the Reagans' for Thanksgiving dinner with us in the afternoon," she added, knowing that the sooner she revealed the news about the pregnancy, the better, since it would give Eva time to adjust and get whatever was coming out of her system before they joined the whole family at such an important function the following day.

"There is no problem with that, Edit," Eva assured as she prepared to reveal her own shocking surprise. "And you do not have to worry about catering to me, this trip was unfortunately not all for pleasure... there are things on my schedule. The new business owners decided to close the office for the entire holiday week…" she explained. "They are very strict-minded in their approach and many of the agents are unhappy," she sniffed with a contentious frown. "We will see what comes of it. A few of my former colleagues from Long Island are located in Park Slope now and there is an interest perhaps for a new manager at the agency there so I decided to come here and meet with them. I have a dinner reservation of my own tonight and an appointment there on Friday afternoon."

"In Brooklyn?!" Eddie gasped as suddenly that somewhat comforting six-plus hour cushion of space between Bay Ridge and her mother's current home in Rochester looked to be sliced down to thirty minutes and she wondered what Jamie's reaction to _that_ would be as this week had held nothing but stress for him. "You're considering moving back down here?"

"If the correct opportunity presents itself, then yes," her mother admitted as the waitress quickly arrived back to deliver their easy order: egg whites on wheat with ginger tea for Eddie, a short stack of pancakes for Kaylin, and small serving of melons and other fruit for Eva. "There has been a significant decline for property values in the north over the past few years and I do not see that trend righting soon. I need to be aware of things like this and very careful, Edit… there is no one other than you to look out for me, and I do not have anything else to fall back on since your father decimated us financially," she added as she eyed Eddie's breakfast choice carefully, particularly the lack of a favored mainstay of bacon and the inclusion of the tummy-soothing tea. Strike two. "Is that a concern?"

"No, of course not, Mom," Eddie conceded as she cut up Kaylin's pancakes and made sure the now uncommonly quiet but obviously hungry little girl's milk was in reach. "It's just that you seemed to be so... settled in Rochester. These past few years, you managed to put so many things right with your career and there's your beautiful house that you worked so hard for… are you sure you're ready for such a big change?"

"Indeed," Eva regarded the two younger blond-haired generations before her and marvelled at the fact that despite all the family trials she had suffered through the past several years her daughter had slipped so easily into motherhood, even for a child that was not her own at first. Still she had concerns about the news that she was sure now was about to be revealed. "I can ask much the same thing about you, my lány, no? You told me this first year you wanted to focus on career advancement and settling in your house, but perhaps there is another reason for me to consider it now?" she added with a small frown and a telling raised eyebrow.

"How did you know?" Eddie asked as she looked down and bit her lip before lifting her shining eyes and confirming the presence of a new unoka bean with a single look.

"Edit," her mother sighed as she glanced over at Kaylin and decided to keep her response low key in front of the child. Suddenly it was clear there was another reason for this breakfast meeting between the three in a public place since the news was sure to be delivered and ingested in a quiet, methodical fashion. Her daughter was certainly learning to handle iffy situations between them in a clearly advantageous manner, but Eva was still not convinced this had been a good decision. "So soon? We spoke of this before you were married and now you will be further down that list. Nonetheless," she conceded with a huff. "I take it I'm the last to be told and everyone will know that at the Reagan dinner tomorrow."

"Only because his family can read Jamie like an open book," Eddie defended with some disappointment at her mother's expected hesitancy. "If you were here, you would have seen it too… we found out on his birthday and he was too excited to hide it from them, and you're not the last," she added with a knowing nod towards the little girl aside of her. "I didn't tell Daddy yet, and we were waiting until things were a little further along so she would be able to understand so please don't..."

"When?" came the next rather flat interrupting inquiry.

"When did it happen, or when will it?" Eddie asked with just a hint of bite now in her tone and her own frown. As she had feared those few crass words were instilling the doubts once more… doubts as to if she was ready for this next step in her life and prepared to give up the things it would require. "Second night of our honeymoon, June thirteenth, and no… it wasn't planned, but we're both over the moon about it," she finished with conviction and Eva knew they were at one of those relationship crossroad points again. "Please say you are happy for us, Mom," her daughter pleaded.

"Edit, I can see that you have reservations too…" Eva began without giving her daughter that immediate satisfaction she craved before catching herself going down that absolute wrong road. "But I know this is something you wanted deep in your heart eventually, and can see what a wonderful way you have with my unokája so we must take it as it comes now instead of waiting for a surprise later," she smiled at Kaylin and re-tuned her response. "You are a very good mother, Edit, and will be to both… I know that. This will be different, though," she warned. "Having your own first with another so young to take care of… a demanding job, a new marriage… it will be hard, no? You are already feeling that?"

"A little," Eddie admitted, somewhat pacified by getting a lukewarm response, anyway. "I've mostly been feeling sick in the late afternoon, so I've been taking all first or third shifts. I just can't eat the same things I used to, but the doctor says everything looks good so far, though," she informed Eva who did offer a relieved sigh with that knowledge. "I had one check already where we saw the heartbeat and we'll find out more in about three weeks at my next appointment when they do a detailed ultrasound."

"And Jamison, he supports you working in this condition?"

"If Jamie had his way, I would be at home covered in bubble wrap with my feet up for the next seven months while he worked both our shifts," Eddie admitted without exaggeration. "Of course he wants nothing more than to protect us, but he's left that decision up to me. When the doctor says it's necessary or I feel like it's interfering with patrol, I'll switch over to desk duty," she explained with a slight grimace as the thought of months chained indoors at the precinct both before and after the baby was due as the one major flaw in this predicament, coupled with the fact that it made her dreams of earning her gold shield before expanding their family just a fleeting wish now. Once she was transferred off patrol if she didn't plan things right, she would undoubtedly lose contact with her rabbi Detective Rivera in the 12th's squad who was her one solid connection to that desired promotion. A likewise overprotective Grandpa Frank had suggested a move to 1PP's personnel department as an option so he could undoubtedly keep his own eyes on her every day, but Eddie was leaning towards staying at her home precinct with a hope of being attached to the detective squad upstairs so she still felt in touch.

"Well, I must say I am in complete agreement with Jamison over this," Eva tutted as she sided with her new son-in-law for once and vowed herself to keep a closer watch on her daughter as that motherly sixth sense of worry crept in and she considered the fact that the prospective move back to the city might be necessary for other reasons now. "You always try to do too much, Edit," she scolded. "Surely you should plan to make the switch sooner than later; you never know what you might run into in this city and there is another to think of now."

"I will, Mom, I promise… probably sometime before Christmas at the latest," Eddie swore as Kaylin perked up at that word.

"Santa?" she questioned as she looked between her Nagyanya and mother now that her hungry tummy had been filled and all the pictures on her placemat properly colored. "But Pop Pop said the turkeys and the 'rade come first," she frowned in confusion while getting herself upset at the notion she had missed something important and demanding an explanation. "He promised I see them! Did they get chased 'way yesterday? Uncle Danny said Daddy was an 'uperhero for saving us from 'paging drumsticks and wings before you played on the floor with him, Mommy," she reminded in a huff.

Eva's responding raised eyebrow likewise demanded an accounting of that rambling narration from the three-year-old's perspective.

"Oh, no baby, turkey day is tomorrow… we didn't miss it, and Daddy promised to take you and Pop Pop to the parade in the morning," Eddie assured the little blond pouting face looking back at her before turning to a similar, but older version. Although not related by blood, Kaylin had somehow seemed to acquire a good portion of classic Janko expressions and mannerisms the more time she spent with her maternal side. "Maybe your Nagyanya will go with you too to see the big birdies."

"Speaking of running into things on the street… funny story in case you missed it on the news, Mom…" she started. "Why don't you have another cup of coffee while I explain…"

###

"Pop… Dad… it's me," Jamie called out as he dragged himself in the backdoor of the Reagan family home to pick up Kaylin after eight that evening, purely exhausted after another impromptu 12-hour shift left the little girl in need of a babysitter while Eddie slept and prepared herself for a midnight tour and Eva attended to her mysterious dinner date uptown.

"Ain't nobody here but us chickens," Henry called out from the sunroom where he was sitting on the couch finishing a crossword while Kaylin was curled up next to him watching " _A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"_ on the television and already preemptively dressed in her jammies. "Maybe I should make that turkeys, right sweetheart?" he chuckled as he elbowed her side as he took a deliberate dig at his youngest grandson given the events of the day before. "She's gonna want to finish watching her show before you walk home. Sit down and have a beer."

"My thoughts exactly," Jamie concurred as he grabbed a bottle from the fridge and plopped himself down in the chair across from them. "Where's Dad?"

"Had an unexpected dinner engagement come up," his grandfather replied as he carefully studied his nightly puzzle. "You might know this one, coach. Six letters, second is an 'L', soccer stadium chant."

"Ole Ole," Jamie offered as his head sank back wearily against the cushion.

"Eh, flopper works better but doesn't fit," Henry grumped as he had no real interest in the rest of the world's beloved form of football except to cheer on his great-grandchildren and buy the post-game ice cream when they insisted on participating, even when it was a bunch of three- and four-year-olds running around in chaotic fashion on a field chasing a ball like a flock of super excited screeching birds as Kaylin's new team did. At least coach Jamie generally had them running in the right direction most of the time, a point that had seen them remain undefeated throughout the season so far as their opponents were just as likely to score on their own net as anything else. The older man allowed an eyeball to roll over the top of his glasses to regard the slumped-over figure across from him. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No," Jamie replied despondently.

"Might help."

"Just the regular holiday stuff…" he finally admitted after a long, tired pause. "You know, there's always a big uptick in domestic violence calls Thanksgiving week… family members that avoid each other like the plague the rest of the year suddenly think it's a smart idea to get together in a big group and drink themselves silly while there's carving utensils in easy reach."

"In-laws come into town," Henry added knowingly, thinking of the special gift that was Eva waiting for Jamie at home. "If the Pilgrims and Indians could find a way…"

"Maybe the first Thanksgiving was 'cause they were just too worn out to fight anymore," Jamie deadpanned. "Eighteen domestics on one shift... I was lucky to get everyone back to the house in one piece today," he sighed before adding the worst part. "Plus one off the Williamsburg onto the roadway… twenty years old and the voices told him to do it. First unit on scene couldn't talk him out of it… not even Rossi and he's usually pretty good with unstable jumpers," he offered in a resigned tone as that resulting image of the young man was seared in his mind since he and Annabel had arrived as backup right after it happened. "I just finished making the notification to the parents… they'd stepped out for dinner and were actually caught up in the traffic on the way back to the house while we were clearing the scene. It was a rough day for the whole platoon," he admitted. "I don't really want to see Eddie go out there on a midnight… bunch of drunken bar fights," he admitted. "She could get hurt."

"Sounds to me like a certain sergeant needs these couple of days off that are coming to him," Henry advised with a worried frown as his grandson always tended to take such things to heart and tally them as personal failures, plus he knew Eddie's current condition just added to that sense of dread. "Like your father says, you can't save every puppy, son… you need to let some of this go and Eddie's more than capable of taking care of herself. She said she'll be riding with Wilson again tonight when she was here. You know he did that on purpose to look out for her… he always has her back."

"Nope, I know… he's a good cop and you sure can't help everyone… not this way anyway..." Jamie trailed off in resignation as he glanced over and saw Kaylin's eyes had drifted shut as she lay on the pillow at Henry's side, the later hour having claimed her even before the end of the animated special. "Sometimes you get lucky though," he added.

"Amen to that," Henry agreed as he followed those thoughts, thanking heaven once more for the appearance of that little girl in their lives.

"Speaking of family members that avoid each other like the plague," Jamie started as he finished his beer and returned for Kaylin after he disposed of the bottle. "I've got one in my own house I guess I need to see. Eva should be back from her dinner soon and Eddie said her mom had some big news of her own to spill, but she wouldn't tell me what it was until I got home… or even what happened when she found out about the baby. I have no clue what to expect there."

"Oh, Eddie said that went okay when she dropped Kaylin off, but I didn't know about the rest. You think maybe Eva met someone?" Henry questioned with interest. "She seemed to loosen up a bit there at the reception that night… even cut the rug a little with your father. Maybe that's all she needed. I bet she's on a date tonight."

"Can't say," Jamie admitted as he picked his daughter up before pausing to turn around. "And please don't remind me of that little thing on the dance floor with Dad," he grimaced. "Still waiting for _that_ nightmare to pop up in my head when I go to sleep. If that's it though wouldn't it be weird that she'd be meeting someone here in the city though, right? I mean she left the day after the wedding to go back home to Rochester and hasn't been here in months."

"Eh, she's probably just out with an old friend," Henry conceded. "I have no idea what's going on with Francis either. He knew I was making chili for us tonight and then he called at the last minute and said he was going out for steak at Del Frisco's. Probably won't even bring me home a doggie bag," he grumped.

"Okay, well I guess there's no time like the present to see where Eva is at with this. Eddie should be up by now to get ready for her shift. I'll see you tomorrow, Pop… we'll be here around seven to pick you up for the parade," Jamie offered on his way out after he covered Kaylin up in a warm blanket for the short walk home since he was still carless.

"Wait!" the older man called after him. "What's an eight-letter word, starts with a 'B', something Ale, a hearty northeastern brew?"

###

" _BROOKLYN?!"_

Eddie scrunched up her nose and flinched as the sound of Jamie's still-sharp, but lowered voice cut through the kitchen after he had just put Kaylin to bed. "Please tell me you're not serious!" he begged in a huff after his wife had just informed him of Eva's possible job interest in the city, and frankly even after the rough week he'd had on the job and home to that point, nothing he'd run into so far had made his stomach hit the floor as hard and fast as that news.

"I only said it was possible," she tried to soothe. "And it's Park Slope, really… you know, all those brownstones; she's really good at selling to people like that. Besides, look at how busy my mom keeps herself at work… we'd hardly see her… at least she took the news about the baby well," she hyped with a hopeful smile. "With two we can always use another sitter on standby."

"Oh, boy…" he conceded before collapsing down on his favored breakfast bar stool with his head in his hands. "This week keeps getting better and better," he muttered. "What next? Sounds like Dad's out on a date tonight too. Maybe I'll have a new step-mommy for Christmas," he hissed in a tone that caused even Bear to look up with concern from his preferred napping roost above the refrigerator.

"Jamison Reagan," Eddie sighed as she slid up behind him and started rubbing his tense shoulders. "You just need to relax. I know you get all wrapped up in a big ball of worry over things like this, but they always work out, don't they? I mean it wasn't our plan to have a baby this early… I really wanted to wait until I had my gold shield, but I'm dealing with it, aren't I? I'm gonna ask Wilson to see if he can pull any strings and get me posted upstairs in the squad at the 12th for my house mouse duty. I figured I could do desk work up there for the detectives and that way I can stay on Rivera's radar. If I do a good job, then maybe when it's time for me to go back to work full time I can get that promotion. And once we saw the little munchkin on the screen you didn't want to go back on the deal, right?"

"Right," Jamie conceded as he was enjoying her touch and he had to admit that proposal for her time on limited duty was actually a pretty good one. He had worried about her feeling as if her own career aspirations would have to be forgotten completely with the arrival of a new baby.

"So… maybe you just need to look a little harder to see the silver lining if my mom comes back down here to live. I mean she has a few friends still around from when we were on Long Island… and I did sort of tell her to move on and not be alone anymore," Eddie admitted as she remembered that big showdown between her and Eva during the wedding rehearsal. "So if she's actually trying and willing to take my advice, we have to support her, right?"

"I guess," he sighed.

"And you never know when having family close by will come in handy," she reminded. "At least we wouldn't have to drive up to Rochester anymore. Two kids in the car… lots of potential for cookie tossing there, especially with me at this point..."

"True," came the quiet, defeated reply.

"That's the spirit, lambchop!" Eddie enthused as she wrapped her arms around him from behind and offered a big, tight hug. "I knew you had it in you! Now, I'm not sure what time mom is coming home... she's actually out a lot later than I thought. Must be having a good time. Do you mind staying down here on the couch and letting her in? I forgot to give her a key, and we changed the code to the alarm since she's been here. I'm gonna leave early and go see what I can work out about that desk duty… I should probably get right on that since I'll need to switch by the end of next month at the latest and I don't want them to think I'm using a hook to get in there," she added. "Although I've got a big one now considering the Commish's newest grandbaby will be front and center," she said as she patted her belly. "And soon no one is gonna be able to miss that. I've already had to let out a notch or two on my belt."

"I'll wait up for your mom," Jamie agreed as stood and turned around to embrace her. "I love you, Edit Katalin, and I love you too little baby bean," he added as he bent down to kiss her belly. "Well actually, week ten is the end of the embryonic period and the start of the fetal…" he stated as he slipped back into ultimate expectant daddy encyclopedia mode. "Better make that a kumquat. You actually passed bean and grape stage and are starting to look like a little human now... besides you're right, Ed," he assured as he stood back up. "We can make anything work as long as we're together. Stay safe out there tonight, promise? It was a rough one today," he admitted and she could see the worry lines were not just all because of the surprising news about her mother that she had sprung on him right after he walked in the door.

"Jamie, do you need me to stay and talk about it?" she questioned as she searched his eyes for the truth. "You've been so stressed out this week… you really do need a few days off. I'm sorry, I didn't even bother to ask about your tour…"

"No, it was just a tough shift… lots of domestics. Pop already got it out of me. The whole platoon came home in one piece though, thank God, and that's all that matters… the other stuff, it was just out of everyone else's hands... I'm fine," he assured as she squinted back at him with a little frowny face. "Tomorrow morning I get to spend at the parade with Kaylin and then the whole rest of the day at a great dinner after defending my honor in the Great Reagan Turkey Bowl…" he smiled as he kissed her. "You can't play this year, lambchop… you're on the DL. The trophy is mine," he teased.

"You'll get some rest tonight and not stay up and worry while I'm gone?"

"Promise," he assured as he moved into the living room and turned the tv on. "I'll settle myself right here on the couch and watch the game while I wait for your mom to get back, and then I'll go to bed, okay?" he added as he plopped down and stretched his legs out comfortably. "This is the new, improved, go-with-the-flow husband you requested," he advised before Eddie shook her head at that obvious lie and offered her goodbyes again. Despite that admitted resolve his eyes soon slipped shut with exhaustion as he floated off into dreamland only to have the previously mentioned dreaded nightmare come knocking only minutes after she left. He twitched as his eyes darted back and forth while a familiar scene played out in his brain with a somewhat mixed-up character set.

 _Soft music was evident in the background and a crowd of people were talking indistinctly, laughing in the upscale restaurant on the waterfront near a bridge while two couples sat at a round table under the soft chandelier lighting._

" _Whitney, tell them where you've been," Maxwell Barncroft urged before jumping in with the answer in his typical self-absorbed fashion which never failed to leave a vile, bad tasting air of spoiled arrogance behind. The 'significant other' of one of Sydney's close friends, he had always rubbed Jamie the absolute wrong way. "She's been in Alberta, working on a takeover of a Canadian shale oil outfit."_

" _Jamie's the one with the exciting new gig, though, right?" Whitney returned with a sly smile as she set him up in deliberate fashion._

" _Yeah, how was life on the mean streets today, Jaimer?" Barncroft goaded as he smirked and dug for dirt on Jamie's decided career_ _move away from Harvard law and into the NYPD as a beat cop._

" _A kid took a nosedive off that bridge out there today, hit the pavement and scattered his brains all over the street because nobody could stop him from listening to the voices in his head," Jamie revealed crassly considering the company they were keeping as he sat next to his very pregnant wife's side. "There's some messed-up people out there."_

" _I need a cigarette," Sydney stated as she pushed herself and her enormous beach ball belly away from the table._

" _Excuse me, guys," Jamie frowned before getting up and he hurried to follow her out into the crowd on the upper level open-air patio deck. "Syd! I'm sorry! I know this isn't easy for you, but you can't smoke with the triplets in there! They're each the size of a bunch of asparagus now!" he admonished as he took the lit cigarette out of her hand and tossed it over the rail into the water. "You're putting the babies at risk! It's child abuse! Syd?..." he questioned as he watched her hair turn from brunette to blonde before his eyes as suddenly Eddie was staring back at him with angry flashing blue orbs and an equally protruding midsection._

" _You did this to me!" she accused as she threw a whole ream of paperwork up in the air at him and it floated back down as the sparkling confetti from their wedding. "Mom told me not to fall for your little bait and switch! I married a beat cop and ended knocked up by a Harvard lawyer! Now I won't ever get promoted and you'll still get to be in the courtroom every day!"_

" _WAIT... WHAT? Ed, that's not right! I need to be out there… on the street, it's where I want to be! Really, I always wanted to be a cop!" he declared while she shook her head in disbelief. "Hey, we're going to be okay!" he forced a laugh to reassure as he took her hands. "Right?"_

" _We better get back in," she frowned and drew close as the scent of that vanilla shampoo hit him squarely. "Danny's coming over soon to fix the sink with Sister Agnes."_

" _Yeah," Jamie agreed as he slipped his arm around her waist and looked over her shoulder as something off to the side caught his attention before she moved off. Flanked by a big red, white and blue turkey on either side, Commissioner Frank Reagan was walking down the street towards a cab with a smitten-looking Eva Janko who was dressed to the nines in her typical heels and wearing a sexy, short raincoat, but it was what happened next that was the stuff of nightmares for him._

 _His father had leaned in and gave Eva a passionate kiss on the lips in the backseat before standing back up and closing the door to the car._

"OH GOD!" Jamie gasped and jumped out of his sleep on the couch just as he heard a knock on the front door signalling his mother-in-law's return home. "Crap," he breathed and rubbed his face in disbelief as his senses jolted back into the present and he took a heavy swallow before he got up and went to let her in. "Eddie and Pop were right…" he huffed as his heart pounded in his chest. "I must really need to decompress and take a few days…" he trailed off before he opened the door and his eyes went wide again.

Eva Janko was standing before him in a more tasteful, but still short raincoat, dressed to the nines in her trademark heels and holding a takeout bag from Del Frisco's Steakhouse in her hands while a familiar black SUV pulled away from the curb.

* * *

 _So there's a side of Grandmommazilla I bet you never expected to see, right? Suffice to say that Eva Janko always makes good on her bets and there was a little matter of a promised steak dinner that came up between her and Frank that evening by the duck pond at the McPherson's estate when he was trying to assure her that she would be welcomed back to the wedding by her daughter after the disastrous rehearsal. While it might take some time for Jamie fully to recover from that little shock, as well as the possibility his mother-in-law might soon share a nearby zip code, rest assured that Eva and Frank will remain only as friends, co-parents and sometimes allies for this little branch of the Reagan family clan for as long as this series continues._

 _Speaking of which, the first chapter of "Resurgence" will post later this afternoon as Jamie is off to the parade with Kaylin and her Nagyanya in tow with a follow up tomorrow as the Reagans and Eva gather for their own Thanksgiving dinner before I switch to a Tuesday/Thursday posting schedule while I am still writing ahead. Things get serious pretty quickly in that one so it was nice to do a few humorous short stories beforehand since they're certainly a lot of fun and I love filling out the storylines this way so thanks for all the suggestions! I do have a few more heavy Snapshots to write which I hope to post as we get to certain relevant points in the story, including the one about Mary's passing and Jamie's subsequent near splat by a car once he returned to Harvard, plus of course the grayhairs' love story of Henry and Betty._

 _Thanks again to my loyal readers and please do leave some reviews… they're great incentives to keep writing. Happy Thanksgiving!_


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